Lily looked at James, her frustration seeping through her veins. All these years all she wanted him to do was not pay any attention to her and he happily ignored her requests. Now, she wanted him to ignore her request but he chose to abide by it and leave her alone. She stabbed her eggs moodily as Alice and Marlene chattered on about the test they had later in the day.

"I see you are sending death glares at James again." Mary whispered nudging Lily to catch her attention. "Seriously, what is it with you two? You were mad at him because he didn't leave you alone. Now you are mad at him because he is leaving you alone."

"Yeah. You never told us, what really happened between the two of you?" Marlene asked.

"Its been months Lily, you said you needed time in September." Alice said, "It's November now, you can't keep it all bottled in. Tell us what happened, maybe we could help."

"It's nothing really." Glaring at James again, "I just- I don't know. I am glad that he is leaving me alone but I kind of miss his antics. Does that even make sense?"

"Ah!" Sirius said, leaning over Lily to grab a scone. "I see you are staring at my Jamie boy again. Admit it Evans you miss him."

"I don't miss him." Lily replied stubbornly. "I don't want to be anywhere near him."

"Well, good. He will keep his distance. He has other distractions now." Sirius said cheerfully looking over at James who was talking animatedly to Amelia Bones.

"James and Amelia?" Mary asked incredulously.

"Oh! That's great!" Alice squealed.

Marlene rolled her eyes muttering "Amateurs" under her breath. Sirius caught her eye and flashed a charming smile before training his eyes on Lily who looked like she would readily hex Amelia. But before Lily could explode a tawny owl landed next to her with a letter sealed with the Ministry's crest.

"That's a ministry owl." Remus pointed out as he came over to greet the girls.

"Why would the Ministry send me a letter?" Lily asked breaking the seal on the letter but before she could open it, both Marlene and Sirius caught her wrist.

"Trust me Lily," Marlene said solemnly. "You don't want to read this letter in the Great Hall."

"Why not?" Lily asked confused.

"It's a purple seal Lily." Alice said gravely, "Please just listen to us for once. Let's go back to the common room."

Alice urgently tugged Lily to her feet and the others followed the two girls to the common room.

"Okay!" Lily said stretching her hand out, "We are in the common room. May I have my letter back?"

"You might want to sit down first." Sirius said. "Now, remember. No matter what this letter says, we are all here for you, okay?"

"What is this all about?" Lily asked, half irritated. "Alice just give me the letter. I know I did nothing wrong, there must be some misunderstanding at the Ministry."

Alice hesitantly gave the letter to Lily and looked away. Before Lily could read the first line, the common room door burst open and Professor McGonagall clambered in. "Ah! Miss Evans." Professor McGonagall said gravely, "I have been looking for you all over. Please come with me, the headmaster would like to speak with you."

"What is it, Professor?" Lily asked anxiously, "I received a letter from the ministry a few minutes ago. Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Miss Evans. You have done nothing wrong. Please come to the headmaster's office with me. He will explain everything to you."


"They are dead." Lily said quietly, as Remus sat next to her in the astronomy tower. "They are dead and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye."

He said nothing as he pulled her in his arms. Lily broke down and wept.

"I will never get a letter from them. Mum will never bake a cake for my birthday and Dad-"

"I know." Remus whispered, resting his cheek on her head.

"I wasn't home enough. I didn't spend time with them. Why did I-How could I believe that they would be there forever? I took them for granted. I couldn't even tell them that I love them. I don't know how to live without them. I don't know if I can survive without them."

He didn't say anything holding on to her instead as she cried on his shoulder. Later when Lily was exhausted with her tears they laid back and looked at the stars.

"Mum told me once that when people die, they become stars." Lily said quietly, "Do you think my mum and dad are up there, watching over me?"

"Do you think they are watching over you?" Remus asked.

"Yes. Look that's mum," Lily said pointing to a star. "And that's dad. Right over there. Do you see them?"

"Yes."

"I never told you about my parents, did I?" Lily asked.

"You mentioned them here and there."

"That's not enough. You should know about them too, you know about everyone else. Would you like to know about them?"

"Only if you want to talk to me about them."

"When I was little, we would go to this lake during the summer to camp out. Mum and I would stargaze while Dad and Petunia ran around trying to catch fireflies." Lily said between sobs. "I used to love helping dad in the garage. He was my driving teacher. I did pretty well this summer."

"Dad hates you though. I told them about your gang. He still hates you but that's all because of Sev." Lily stopped abruptly, she missed Severus. Her parents had almost adopted him too, she wondered if he knew about their deaths or the fact that Death Eaters killed them.

"You never got a chance to meet my parents!" She exclaimed suddenly, "You would have loved them. Though dad would have tried to threaten you with his gun but he is a real softie. He-" Lily stopped, sitting bolt upright.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed horrified.

"What is it?" Remus asked alarmed.

"I missed the test today!" Lily wailed.

"What?"

"I-I- I missed the Charms test today. I am a horrible person. My parents just died and I am worrying about a stupid school test. Am I incapable of love? This must show you that I can't even love my parents! Petunia was right! I am just a selfish freak! That's why they left me. That's why they were killed, to punish a freak like me."

"Hey." Remus said loudly, shaking Lily a little. "You are not a freak and this isn't your fault!"

"Then why are they dead?" Lily wailed in anguish. Remus couldn't say anything; he just wrapped his arms around her. They stayed that way till Lily started shivering.

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think, maybe we could-uh-we could- ugh- you know go inside? Its freezing out here and I don't want you to be sick."

"There are people inside. I don't want to face them."

"Not right now. It's past 1:00 a.m. and we will all be there tomorrow morning. When is the funeral?"

"Next Monday, I am leaving for home day after tomorrow. Will you be allowed to come?"

"We will talk to Professor McGonagall about that. Okay?"

Lily snuggled into him and nodded.

"Lily?" Remus said after a few minutes.

"Yes."

"Can we please go? Its freezing out here."

Lily let out a short laugh before standing up and pulling him up beside her. Three young boys watched Remus and Lily walk away.

"I hate this!" Sirius said angrily as he stepped out of the invisibility cloak.

"I know, you do." James said, folding the cloak. "But keep your voice down. We don't want her to come back."

"I wish we could do something about it." Sirius said settling down on the parapet.

"I know."

"Is your dad alright?"

"Yeah. He is fine. He found them- he found Lily's parents."

"Oh?"

"They will not release these details but every muggle they found was tortured; at least for hours before they were killed, including her parents."

"How bad?"

"I don't know. All I know is that this is the first attack of such a large scale, more will follow. Voldemort will not stop till the ministry bows to his will."

"But why such a small town like Cokeworth? Won't they make a statement by attacking people in London?"

James shrugged, "Maybe because no one was really expecting them to attack a small insignificant town. Maybe they are making a statement."

"Do you think we would be able to kill them?" Sirius asked looking at the stars.

"Who?"

"The Death Eaters. Do you think we would be able to kill them in a fight?"

"I don't know. I don't want to kill anyone, no matter how much they deserve to die."

"Do you think he would be like the other Death Eaters?" Sirius asked timidly.

"I don't know, Sirius. He is still a student here, but from what I have seen of him, I don't think Regulus would be like them." James said softly.

Sirius nodded.

"Do you want to go back inside?" James asked.

"I can't." Sirius said, unshed tears sparkling in his eyes.

"It's not your fault, Sirius." James said gently.

"But that's my family out there. We know Bellatrix was at the scene and my parents are proud of her. How can I face Lily with that knowledge?"

"You forget Padfoot. She is my cousin too and I will still go back to comfort Lily because I am not like Bellatrix and neither are you." James stood up and stretched his hand out to Sirius, "Come on. Lily needs you right now."

Sirius dabbed the corner of his eyes, before taking James' hand.

Severus Snape watched his arch enemies before looking at the letters crushed in his fist. The first letter was from Lucius Malfoy, gleefully recounting the adventures of the night before. Claiming credit for ensuring that Severus' useless muggle father was killed along with twenty other worthless muggles, they had kidnapped at the grocery store. The second letter was from his mother informing him of his father's untimely demise, along with the deaths of Richard and Rose Evans, begging him to come home for the funeral.

For the first time in his young life, Severus Snape wondered if he had made the right choice. He rubbed his left forearm softly, as the dark mark on his skin tingled unpleasantly in his moment of doubt. He settled in the darkest corner of the chilly room and allowed himself to weep for the couple that had shown him nothing but kindness. He knew why the Death Eaters had attacked Cokeworth, he knew it was because of him, because of his description of the forgotten industrial town. He knew as soon as Lucius' letter claimed it, that the town was chosen to increase the burden of debt on Severus. It was chosen to seal his servitude to the dark lord. Severus in his haste had agreed to the plan, naively believing that they would get rid of his worthless father only.

As he stared at the spot where Lily had wept sometime ago, the enormity of his servitude dawned on him. He still firmly believed that the Dark Lord would disapprove of the mindless murder of anyone. The Dark Lord always killed to send across a message. Each death had a purpose, but he didn't think, his fellow Death Eaters understood the Dark Lord's code of conduct. He shuddered at the thought of the Dark Lord's retribution. He did not forgive mistakes easily. Severus wiped his eyes. He just needed to talk to Lily, he knew she would understand. He was confident that she would forgive him, he was not at fault here, he had only wished the death of his father, he couldn't control Bellatrix or Theodus from killing so many people. She would have to understand that the Dark Lord would never approve of such mindless killing, she would forgive him. She had to forgive him.


James and Sirius were greeted with a flurry of activity as they entered their dormitory.

"What is happening here?" James asked Alice as she gracefully landed a mattress on the floor.

"Sleepover." Alice said with a smile.

"Why?" Sirius asked, settling on his bed.

"Because," Marlene's voice floated from under Remus' bed. "Lily is going through a very difficult phase and she needs all of us. Also, Remus insisted on not leaving her alone tonight. Seriously, do you ever clean your bed Sirius?" She asked rolling out on the floor.

"That's Remus' bed." Peter said from a corner.

"What?" Alice and Marlene yelped in unison.

Sirius smirked, "Yes, well Remus is not as proper as you believe him to be. This is my bed." He said patting the mattress on the neatly made bed.

"No don't touch that!" James said, catching hold of Marlene's hand which hovered over the junk near Remus' pillow. "Remus hates it when someone touches his bed. Do you want to die?"

"Speaking of Remus, where is he?" Sirius asked.

"He is down in the kitchens with Lily and Mary. They are getting junk food, we are going to stay up and talk." Peter said wearily.

"But what if Lily is too tired and wishes to sleep?" James asked anxiously.

"Then she can sleep. The junk is to keep us awake. One of us must be up at all times, in case she needs to talk to someone." Marlene said.

"You think she would want to talk to us?" James asked incredulously.

"No." Alice said honestly, "So, Peter and you should cover your beds and sleep. But she would talk to Remus and Sirius. They need to stay up."

James and Sirius exchanged a look but before they could exchange a word, the door of the dormitory burst open and Lily, Mary and Remus walked in with their arms laden with food.

Lily dumped all the food on the table nearest to her, which happened to belong to James.

"You really don't need to do this." She said, "I am-"

"Don't tell us you are fine." Mary said, "You are not fine. You will be going home day after tomorrow, let us just be with you till then. Please."

Lily didn't say anything, just settled down on a mattress and looked at Sirius, her eyes filling up with tears. Sirius looked at James uneasily, when the latter nodded encouragingly, he got off his bed and sat next to her.

It was around dawn when James woke up to Lily's sobs. He looked around hoping that someone else would wake up and talk to her. When no one responded, he silently got up from his bed and sat down next to her. Lily was sobbing in her sleep, holding Sirius' hand. James gently pulled her to him and held her. He watched her sleep, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep with Lily in his arms.


For the first time in five years, Petunia rushed to hug Lily as soon as Lily entered her parents' home.

"They are gone. Mum and dad, they are gone." Petunia sobbed on Lily's shoulder, "What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry." Lily whispered back through her tears, "Don't cry so much. You know how much they hate to see us cry."

"But they are not here anymore Lily!" Petunia shrieked through her tears. "It doesn't matter whether we cry or not!"

"No." Lily said stubbornly, swiftly wiping the tears from her face, "I know they are gone but this is their home-our home. Their memory lives on in us. They are not completely gone."

"Lily!" Petunia exclaimed throwing her hands in the air. "Why-"

"That's enough." Lavender Beckett, Lily and Petunia's aunt said sharply. "Rosie would hate to see you two fight over this. And I would know Petunia, she was my sister. You only have each other now. So, it would be better if you support each other."

"I am sorry." Petunia said softly, her eyes shining with tears.

"I am sorry too." Lily said before dissolving into tears herself.

Lily was looking at the stars from the porch swing later that night when Petunia joined her silently.

"Mum and you, used to love stargazing." She said, lightly running a hand through Lily's hair. "Remember the camping trips when we were young? The two of you would spend hours lying on your backs and staring at the sky. Dad always said that you got the dreamer genes."

Lily smiled, "And he said you got the logical genes. Isn't that why you chased fireflies? That way you could have stars in a jar."

Petunia laughed, "You remember that?"

"I remember everything." Lily replied simply.

Petunia said nothing but she continued to stroke Lily's hair, as Lily settled her head in Petunia's lap.

"Lily?"

"Hmmm…"

"Do you think they are watching over us from somewhere?"

"I think so."

"Do you think they would be glad that we finally made up?"

"Are we making up?" Lily asked, getting up to look at Petunia.

"You are the only family I have left, apart from Aunt Lavender. It would be pretty stupid to fight you over something that you didn't ask for."

A small smile played on Lily's lips, "I think they would be thrilled that we are not fighting anymore."

Petunia nodded. "Did your people tell you what exactly happened to mum and dad?" She asked after a while.

"Yes." Lily replied, "Why? What did they tell you?"

"The police and media claim that this was an attack from a supremacist terrorist group, but they never told us which terrorist group and what do they want."

Lily nodded, "They are my kind."

"Then why did they kill people without magic? And why can't your people control them?"

Lily sighed, "Petunia, the other side could do magic too. These people, the ones that killed mum and dad believe that wizards are better, mostly that purebloods- people from completely magical families tracing back through entire generations- are better than muggles or witches or wizards born to non-magical parents."

"So, they kill non-magical people? Like the KKK used to kill Blacks and those who supported them?"

"Yes. Something like that. Nobody really paid attention to them but then this one man started spewing his ideas and suddenly all purebloods had a person to rally around. Our world is at war. This attack is the first of many. This attack was his war cry; he is challenging the peace our ministry protects."

"Wow! These things exist among you too? I thought we were the only ones with such problems. What about those dementors?"

Lily laughed humourlessly, "They have joined forces with him. He gives them more access; they have been attacking a lot of wizarding villages. Our curriculum was changed because of it."

"Lily? How bad is it?"

"It's not pretty." Lily admitted, "They have been subtle about their attacks so far, but this is serious."

"Are you in danger too?" Petunia asked anxiously.

"Not for now. Hogwarts is safer than most places, but beyond that school, everyone is in danger."

"Can I ask for a favour?"

"Anything."

"Don't get involved."

"What?"

"Don't get involved. If things get worse, we will flee the country but don't get involved in this war."

"Petunia, I know the people who killed our parents. They went to school with me! You want me to let that go?" Lily asked flabbergasted.

"Yes. You are the only family I have now Lily. Please, don't abandon me." Petunia said before dissolving into tears.

"Tuney." Lily whispered, pulling her sister in a hug. "I promise, I will not fight. I never wanted to fight either, I wanted to become a healer- a magical doctor. That should work for us. Will you be okay with that?"

"I just-hic- I just don't- want to lose you too."

"I know Tuney and I promise, I am not going anywhere. Okay?"

Petunia nodded as she sobbed on her sister's shoulder.

"Now come on, let's get you inside." Lily said, pulling Petunia gently to her feet.


Lily was finishing up the last bit of packing. The funeral had gone off without a hitch. Remus and Sirius had to sneak out of school to attend it. They had come laden with chocolates and letters of immense love from her friends and dorm mates.

Lily looked around the now empty closet, which once belonged to her mother. She pulled out her mother's night gown from the box nearest to her and smelled it. This was how she used to smell, like cookies and baby cream with a faint undertone of jasmine.

"Lily," Petunia called.

"In here!"

"Oh! Hey! What are you doing here?" Petunia asked sitting cross legged across Lily.

"Smuggling Mum's night gown, it still smells like her." Lily said extending the dress to her sister.

"It does. You used to say that mum had the yummiest smell in the world."

"I don't even remember saying that!" Lily said with a small smile.

The past week had brought the sisters closer than they had been in five years.

"Here." Petunia said handing the nightgown back to Lily, "You can keep it. Take it with you."

"Thanks, Tuney. Are you sure you would be okay? I can take a few more days off."

"No. You can't miss out on your education. Vernon will be here tomorrow to help me move."

"I am glad you were against selling this house." Lily said, "I would like to come back home for Christmas."

"Of course I am against selling this house. It's our home."

Lily smiled at Petunia gratefully. "Hey, why were you looking for me? Did you need help with something?"

"Oh shoot! I forgot! That Snape boy is here. He is waiting for you in the living room."

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked Severus from the door of the living room.

Severus jumped to his feet. "I just wanted to see, how you were doing." He said softly, taking several steps towards her.

"I am so sorry, Lily." He said remorsefully. "I wish I could attend their funeral."

Lily forgot that she had been mad at Severus. At this moment, he was her Sev; her best friend. And the one thing she had learned from the sudden deaths of her parents was that life was too short, she can't take people for granted. She flung herself in his arms.

"They are gone, Sev." She wept, "They killed them. He killed them, just like he killed your dad. Do you see now? Do you see what he truly is?"

Severus hugged her tightly. "Shh…" He whispered, "It will be alright. You will see, everything will get better with time."

"It won't! How will we ever fill the holes in our hearts?"

"We can't. But time will dull the ache. I promise."

Lily nodded, "I don't want to fight with you anymore. You are my best friend, Sev. Life is too short; I would rather have your frustrating self in my life than the regret of not giving you a second chance."

"Good. I am glad. I missed you so much." He said pulling her in a hug. "We will be fine. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

"Where are my manners?" Lily exclaimed disengaging herself from him. "Would you like something to drink? Tea? Juice? Come on in." She said pulling him in the kitchen, "We have tons of food from the funeral."

Lily chattered about nonsensical things as she flitted across the kitchen to prepare some tea and heat up some food for Severus.

"Here, let me get that for you." Severus said, pulling some plates out from the cupboard above their heads.

"What's that?" Lily asked curiously pointing at the odd semi circle tattoo his left wrist, peeking from under his full sleeve shirt.

"Nothing." Severus said hurriedly, pulling the sleeve of his shirt to cover his wrist.

"Severus!" Lily exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pushing the sleeve back. "If you have a crazy tattoo, just show it to me. You don't-"

She stared at the dark mark on his forearm before dropping it and turning her back to him.

"Lily." Severus said earnestly.

"Leave."

When he made no move she turned to look at him, hatred burning in her eyes.

"I asked you to leave Severus. Go away and don't come back."

"No, Lily. You don't understand, the Dark Lord didn't mean to kill your parents. It was Bellatrix and Theodus. They got out of control but you have to believe me the Dark Lord had punished them severely. They were not supposed to-" SMACK!

Lily slapped Severus hard. "None of your excuses would bring my parents back." She hissed trying to stem her tears. "Go away. Leave. I can't even look at you. You are one of them."

Severus tried to touch her but she shook him off. Severus hung his head and shuffled out of the kitchen. Maybe this was too soon. Maybe after a little time Lily would understand that her parents weren't supposed to die. It was an accident. It was because Bellatrix was crazy, maybe she would understand later that the Dark Lord would never harm a witch or wizard or their families, unless it is absolutely necessary but even Severus' belief on his master was shaking.

AN: So, some more death. I am sorry, I would just have to kill off characters now and I am not liking it. I would understand if you hate this haywired chapter but nevertheless, leave a review behind. Please.

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I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.

Much love,

The fishes