Everyone was sad that
the night had to come to an end, but it was nearly 4 in the morning, and
everyone had work or plans for the following day. Remus had actually left
around 1 to go back to Aaron and relieve Marilyn. Lily was exhausted, and James
was carrying her in his arms.
"Sirius, you coming?"
"Not yet, I'll see you guys tomorrow probably," he said, smiling
slyly and nodding in the general direction of Jem.
James returned the smile. "Have a good night," he told them.
"We will." Sirius winked at them.
A minute later James whispered to Lily "Baby, we're home." He set her
down on the bed.
"Good," she said, suddenly wide awake. "I was hoping to get you
alone..." Lily smiled sweetly and winked at him. She then got up and
pulled off her wig, allowing her long red hair to cascade down her back.
"Could you help me with this?" she asked, pouting slightly and brushing
her hair aside so that James could undo the zipper down her back. "Thank
you," she whispered, so softly that it felt like she was simply exhaling
against James's ear.
"I'll be right back, just going to change," she said, heading into
the bathroom.
James could feel his heart racing. He started fidgeting, he was so nervous and
anxious and excited, but he didn't know why. It wasn't as though he hadn't se-
"Oh my god," he said.
"What?" Lily had reappeared wearing a short black silk nightgown, and
was walking toward him.
"You- You look-"
"Shhh," she whispered before kissing him. They might have agreed to
wait until their wedding night to make love for the first time, but that didn't
mean that they couldn't enjoy themselves in other ways. Lily was in full
control of the situation, and she enjoyed every minute of it. Judging by
James's reactions, he did as well.
For some reason, James woke up rather early, considering that he didn't get to sleep until the sun was already up. James smiled when he saw that Lily was still asleep in his arms. He carefully reached over to the nightstand and put his glasses on. When he looked around the room he couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. Clothing and pillows were strewn across the floor, the sheets were all tangled on the bed, and still, there she was, asleep in his arms. He sighed, very contentedly.
Lily then began to stir. "What time is it?" she moaned.
"It's almost 10, go back to sleep," he whispered. She just nodded in response, turned over and fell back asleep.
James held the sleeping Lily in his arms for the next hour or so. In just over two weeks they would be husband and wife. He could hardly believe it. After all the twists and turns their relationship had taken over the years, it was finally going to happen. Just then, Scarlet appeared at the window, pecking to be let inside.
Careful not to wake Lily, James rolled her over and out of his arms. He then tip-toed over to the window and let the owl in. "What have you got there?" he whispered, untying the piece of parchment that was on Scarlet's leg. She cooed as he pet her, and then flew off to her cage where she took a few sips of water before perching for a nap. Since Scarlet had allowed him to take the letter from her, he assumed that it would be alright if he read it before Lily was awake. Needless to say, when he saw who it was from, he was very glad that he did.
Rather than yelling at her now, James thought it best to let her get her rest, and then confront her about the note later on. So, he went downstairs to make some coffee and find something to eat. He then sat down at the kitchen table, with the note lying in front of him and stared at it while he ate and drank. It almost looked as though he expected it to do something, to attack or burst into flames. Anything. It didn't though, of course not. It just sat there, mocking him while he stared with growing disgust.
It was nearly 2 in the afternoon when Lily finally made her way downstairs. "The house is so quiet now that Aaron and Remus are gone," she commented. When she saw James sitting alone, she sat on his lap and tried to kiss him, but he turned his head away. "What?" she asked.
James nodded at the note. "Do you have anything that you want to tell me?"
Lily looked puzzled. "About what? What are you talking about?"
He nodded at the note again. "About that. Scarlet delivered it this morning. Is there something I should know?"
"I'm not following you, James…"
"Here." He reached forward and handed the note to Lily. "Read it."
"Dear Lily," she started, reading the note out loud, "It was wonderful to see you again last night, in all of your radiance. I wish that we could have had more time alone together, but perhaps it was for the best. Who knows what else might have happened. As of now I really do not think it would be wise for me to attend your wedding to Potter, things might be said or done that we all would regret. Please do not hesitate to contact me in any way at any time, and I look forward to spending time with you again soon. Love Always, Severus Snape."
"Well?" demanded James.
Lily stared at him blankly.
"Well?" he asked again.
"Well what?" she indignantly replied. "There is nothing to tell!"
"Don't lie to me, woman!"
"James, we've been through this time and time again. Don't call me that!"
"That's not the issue here! What happened with you and Snape?!" He said the name with so much disgust and contempt and hatred that it wouldn't have surprised Lily if the hairs on the back of Snape's neck mysteriously stood on end.
"Nothing happened, James. How many times do we have to go through this? Nothing happened last night, just like nothing has ever happened before. You said you were going to trust me!"
"That was before I read that." He glared at the note. "Now tell me what happened!"
"What do you want to hear?!" she yelled. "Do you want me to tell you that I went off with him? That I kissed him? That I made love to him? Tell me! What do you want me to say?!"
James was stunned. He could feel his heart breaking inside, but he refused to show it. "You little bitch! How could you be such a slut?! You had to get that into your character?! How could you do this to me?"
"You've gone mad!" she yelled. "You actually believe that I would do that? Well, if that's the case, we have nothing further to discuss. I'll move out. I'll figure something out, and be out of your way."
Lily ran upstairs to
her room as quickly as she could so that James wouldn't see her tears. When she
got in there, she pulled out a duffel bag and started throwing some clothes
into it. She wanted to get away, just for a little while. She didn't want to
face James like this, and she couldn't go to Sirius either. Chances are Remus
wouldn't believe her either. Instead, she decided that she would turn to the
family she didn't know she had. She would go and stay with Victoria.
Before James could say anything, Lily had run past him and out the door with
her bag in one hand and Scarlet's cage in the other. She apparated instantly,
and found herself standing in front of the Palace of the Prophets. Victoria was
standing in the doorway with open arms.
Lily cried. She cried
and cried and cried in the arms of her newly discovered Gran. She tried to
speak and explain why she was there, but Victoria kept quieting her. "I know,
child, I know," she said, leading Lily inside and to her own residence area.
When Lily had finally gotten her cry out, she started to speak, through her
hiccups. "I'm sorry, Gran, really. I didn't mean to drop in on you, but I had
nowhere else to go."
Victoria nodded. "I had a vision last night that you would be arriving here
today. It is all a very big misunderstanding, I assure you. You will soon
return to James, I'm certain that you know, and want, that."
Lily gulped and nodded. "I just don't understand… he wasn't even there…" she
whispered.
When Sirius came home later that afternoon, he found an infuriated James pacing
around the house. "Finally!" he yelled. "Read this!" He three the note at
Sirius.
"This is a joke, right?"
"What? Look at it! Can you believe she would do this to me? Again?!"
"James, calm down, man. Snape wasn't even at the party! He's in the hospital…"
James's face fell. "Are- Are you sure?"
Sirius nodded. "I saw him there myself this morning, knocked out cold. There's
no way he was out last night."
"Oh, no…" James fell to the floor and buried his face in his hands. "I did it
again…"
Lily had finally
calmed down enough to sit still and breath normally. "So, I can stay here with
you for a couple of days?"
"Of course you may, my dear. If you need anything, just let me know."
Just then there was a tapping at the window. It was an owl!
Victoria opened the window, and the owl flew in, did a quick circle around the
ceiling, and then landed in front of Lily. She reached for the note that was
attached to the owl's leg, and as soon as she relieved it of its package, it
took flight, leaving her sitting there, stunned. She unfolded the parchment and
couldn't believe what it said.
To Lily, My Love,
I must apologize for deceiving you with my last letter. It was for the best
though that you distanced yourself from that nuisance James Potter. You will be
much safer within the walls of the Palace of the Prophets. I am very pleased
with your decision to turn to your great-great-great grandmother for support. I
look forward to seeing you again soon.
Love for always,
Ton Amour
Even Victoria was surprised by the arrival of this letter. "I think it would be best if you returned to James as quickly as possible."
"Are you sure?" Victoria nodded. Lily took a deep breath. "Maybe you're right…"
It was early evening when Lily returned to her house. To her surprise, it was empty. Just then the door burst open and James, Sirius, Remus and Peter came running in. Lily expected the first three, but Peter was truly a surprise
"Lily! Thank god you're alright!" James exclaimed, relieved to find her in their living room.
"James! I'm so scared," she said, rushing into his arms.
"What? What happened?"
"This…" she said as she pulled out the other note and handed it to him. He quickly read over it and handed it to Sirius.
"Oh my god… how is that even possible?" asked Sirius.
"Lil, I'm so sorry I didn't believe you. I know that I always say that, but really. That letter was just too much… it was too real."
"I know, I know…" she said.
After Remus read over the note he handed it to Peter who, as usual, flinched. "I'm not going to bite you, so quit worrying," Remus told him. "Besides, there are more pressing issues."
"It's not that," said Peter.
"Then what?"
"I don't know. This is just very strange… it means someone is watching you, Lily," Peter said.
"Where's Aaron?" Lily asked, turning to Remus.
He smiled. "He's at home. I left him with a neighbor. Lily, you are amazing. Do you ever worry about yourself? I mean, somehow you always manage to look out for other people…" Remus said.
"I don't know… my dad said I was cursed with a heart that is too big," she smiled faintly.
"Well, what are we gonna do now?" asked Sirius. "Lily, we really can't leave you alone. God only knows who this madman is."
"He's right, Lil. We're going to have to come up with something," James added.
"We need to tell Dumbledore. You promised that you would let him know if anything else happened," she answered. The boys all nodded in agreement. If anyone would know what to do, it would be Professor Dumbledore.
Scarlet was sent out into the night carrying the message to Dumbledore. She must have realized the importance of the letter she carried, for she somehow managed to return within an hour.
"Dumbledore says that he can't get away from Hogwarts tonight, but he will be here first thing in the morning," James said.
"Well, in Dumbledore time, that means we need to be up and ready for him around 6," added Sirius, which caused everyone to smile. "What? You know I'm right…"
Everyone rolled their eyes this time. "Yeah, yeah," said James. "Are you all gonna crash here tonight?"
"Yeah, I think so, if that's cool," said Remus.
"I don't have to, maybe I should just go and come back in the morning?" said Peter.
"Don't be silly," Lily began, "there's plenty of room." She then turned back to Remus. "And Aaron? Are you just going to leave him tonight?"
"I think so. He'll be fine."
"Well, if you're sure…" Remus nodded. "Okay, well, in that case, I'm gonna go up to bed. Something tells me tomorrow is going to be a long day. Are you coming, James?"
"I'll be right up."
"Night, guys. And thanks for everything, really…" Lily disappeared up the stairs.
"Okay, listen. Nobody is going to find out about this, understand? Only Dumbledore, and that's just because we all know that he's the only one we can really trust. Are we all in agreement on this?" He put his hand out. Sirius and Remus stacked theirs on top. Peter reluctantly did the same.
"Agreed," they all said.
That night hardly anyone slept. Lily and James lay awake in each other's arms, but didn't say a word. Sirius stared at his ceiling all night, Remus stared at the wall, and Peter just gazed nervously around the room he was staying in. When dawn finally broke, everyone made their way downstairs silently. Lily made coffee, and the guys sat silently at the kitchen table watching her, watching the clock, or staring out the window. They each muttered their thanks as she passed mugs of black coffee around the table. Other than that, it was strict silence until the clock struck six o'clock, and as predicted, Dumbledore appeared.
Dumbledore was quite surprised to see Peter was a part of the group again. "How nice it is to see the entire gang back together again," he commented, smiling at Peter.
"Yeah, thanks," Peter replied.
He then turned to everyone else. "Do you have the letters?" he inquired. James stepped forward and handed them to him. "Thank you, James. May I?" Dumbledore asked, gesturing toward a chair.
"Oh, of course! Please do," said Lily.
Dumbledore sat down and began examining the two letters. "Interesting…" he commented. "Sirius, did you have a look at these?" Sirius nodded. "Do you remember a certain charm that we discussed in your fourth year at Hogwarts?"
"About the dictation thing?" he answered.
"Yes."
"Yeah, Professor Beatriz gave me a detention for using that dictation charm rather than actually writing my own papers."
"Exactly. If you will notice, these letters were not written by hand. Whoever wrote these was careful enough not to actually touch the parchment at all," Dumbledore explained. "As of right now, these pages are useless. Unless…" he turned to Lily and James, "would either of you object to my taking these for some further examination and tests?"
"No, of course not. Please do, if you think it'll help," said James. Lily nodded.
"Very well then. I will most likely contact you before the day is out. Goodbye for now."
The five friends agreed that for the rest of the day it would be best for Lily to simply lay low. James found himself forced to go into work though, for fear of being fired, so he joined Sirius at the office. Remus went to check on Aaron, and that left Peter to stay with Lily. It had been a few months since they had really gotten a chance to talk, and for some reason, she actually looked forward to their time alone.
"How have you been?" Lily asked, once everyone else had left.
"Oh, you know, just keeping busy. Doing research, things like that," Peter said.
"Yeah? What have you been working on?"
"It's really rather complicated, but I'm trying to work on my potions, and things like that. Considering taking a job as a teacher or professor. Probably not at Hogwarts, but someplace like that… need to learn as much as I can about the different subjects."
"That sounds fascinating. I have to tell you though, Peter, I can't really see you as a Professor."
He smiled. "Neither can I. But I really am making some headway with the Dark Arts research. Right now I'm actually working as an assistant for Gilderoy Lockhart."
"That must be exciting. I've read a couple of his books so far. Some of the things he's encountered seem truly amazing," Lily commented.
Peter stifled a laugh. "You never know what he's going to come up with next, that's for sure." There was an awkward pause for a minute and then Peter spoke again. "Excuse me, just need to run to the loo."
"Sure," Lily said. She then got up as well and went into the kitchen.
"You have something," a voice whispered behind her. "Something that I need."
"What?" Lily turned around and saw nothing.
"You will help me, for only together can we succeed…"
Lily turned around and started looking around frantically, but there was still nothing and nobody there. "Peter!" she shouted.
"In time, my dear, in time…" the voice faded away.
"Peter!" she choked on the name this time.
Peter came rushing down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he found Lily sitting on the floor clutching a knife. "What happened?" he asked, rushing to her side and helping her up. He quickly removed the knife from her hands and set it on the counter.
"I heard… there was a voice. It was so cold… I need James, Peter, please, can you take me to him?"
"Of course, come on."
When Peter and Lily arrived at James's office, they were surprised to find that Professor Dumbledore was there as well, waiting for them. "Lily, there is something very important that I must inform you and James of at once." He then turned to Peter. "Thank you very much for bringing her, I shall now escort her to James." All Peter could do was nod. He sat down and started talking to Sirius, trying to make some sense out of the whole situation.
Dumbledore led Lily into a small conference room where James was already sitting. "Lily! Thank god," he said when she walked in. He jumped up and hugged her close to him, almost as if he had known what happened. There was then a knock at the door, and a very old wizard entered.
"Ah, Nicholas! So glad that you could make it," said Dumbledore. "Please, have a seat."
"Thank you, Albus. And these must be the two students you told me so much about, Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, I trust?" Nicholas asked.
They each nodded. "Lily, James, this is a very dear friend of mine, Nicholas Flamel. He should be able to shed some light on the circumstances surrounding our meeting today."
Nicholas cleared his throat and then began to speak. "First, allow me to say what a great honor it is to meet the two of you at long last. I have heard much about you, not only from Albus, but from others who have been keeping close watch over you." He turned to Lily and smiled. "This includes the Prelate Victoria, who I am told you have already spoken to." Lily nodded in agreement. "Well, I will not assume that you know who I am, or what I have devoted my life to, as it has not been highly publicized. Albus and I have known each other for years, and have worked very closely on many projects. Perhaps the most important thing we have discovered is the power of an object known as the Sorcerer's Stone."
"I've heard rumors about that," James said. "Is it true what they say it can do? That it is capable of making someone immortal?"
Nicholas and Dumbledore both smiled. "Not exactly," Dumbledore said. "It will prolong life, but not prevent death."
"That is quite true. The elixir of the Stone is what has kept both myself and my wife alive for centuries," Nicholas continued.
"But, if you don't mind my asking," Lily interrupted, "What does this have to do with us?"
Nicholas smiled. "That is a very good question. And the answer is that you, Lily, are the new guardian of the Stone."
"Pardon?"
Lily said, her eyed widening.
"What are you talking about?" asked James.
"The Stone has been entrusted to your care, Lily," Dumbledore said.
"Why? How?" Lily asked.
"We needed someone who was strong enough to protect something this important,
and who we knew could be trusted," Nicholas told her.
"In all my years at Hogwarts," Dumbledore began, "I have never
seen a person act with such strength, bravery and honesty as you, Lily. The
Stone chose you."
"Where is it then? How am I guarding it?"
"While the Stone is not physically in your possession, you are the only
person now who is able to summon it. A gift of this nature is passed from
generation to generation. You have always had the power to protect it, even
before it was entrusted to you. And you, in turn, will pass this gift on to any
children that you will have."
"I still don't understand though," Lily insisted. "How is this
related to everything that has been happening to me?"
"We believe that the dark wizard Voldemort is in search of the Stone. He
is aware of its powers and will most likely stop at nothing to get it,"
Dumbledore told them. "In fact, from what I have seen it appears that
those letters are most likely from one of Voldemort's followers. I am quite
certain that you are familiar with them, are you not, James?"
"Yes sir, we've been working on the Death Eaters cases for weeks
now," James replied.
"And the voice," Lily whispered. "It was him, wasn't it?"
Nicholas and Dumbledore nodded somberly.
"What voice?" demanded James.
"That's why I
had Peter bring me here," Lily said. "It sounded like someone was
inside the house... he said that I had something that he needed... that only I
could help him..." she trailed off.
"He was in our house?" James's anger became more and more apparent
with each word. "That bastard was in our house?!"
"James, please do calm down and control yourself," said Dumbledore.
"I have a possible solution for this dilemma. No doubt you are familiar
with the concept of a Secret-Keeper. It would be my suggestion that you
consider this as an option for your own safety. We will understand if you wish
to take some time to think on the matter, but do bear in mind that time is of
the essence."
"We will. Thank you Professor, Mr. Flamel," said James.
Everyone then got up and said their goodbyes, Dumbledore returned to Hogwarts,
Nicholas to his home, and Lily and James met Sirius and Peter.
"We need to go see Remus, all of us," said James. "Meet us
there."
"Is everything ok?" asked Sirius.
"We'll talk then."
"I'll be there in a few with Peter."
James then led Lily away and they headed to Remus's apartment.
"James, I don't
want to tell them. They don't need to be put at risk as well," Lily said
as they were walking up to Remus's door.
"Are you sure?" She nodded. "Alright," James said
reluctantly.
"I think they should know that something is going on, with the
letters, but not about anything else. We shouldn't involve them, it just
wouldn't be fair to them."
James sighed. "I know, you're right. But I do want them to know about
Voldemort, even if we don't tell them the reasoning behind it. They should be
on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary as well. Will you at least
agree to that?" Lily nodded. "Good."
Once Sirius and Peter
arrived, everyone gathered in the living room. James took it upon himself to
explain about the letters and the mysterious voice that Lily had heard, and was
careful not to mention anything about the Sorcerer's Stone or Dumbledore's idea
about naming a Secret-Keeper. When James said that it was most likely Voldemort
who was responsible for the occurrences though, Peter was the only one to
flinch at the sound of his name.
"And that's pretty much where we are now," concluded James.
"We just wait and see what happens next," added Lily.
"Any questions?" he asked, sounding more like a teacher just
finishing the day's lessons rather than a friend.
"Has Dumbledore said anything about taking any measures for your
protection?" asked Sirius.
"No, not yet. All that I think we need to do for now is just be careful.
If we are all on the lookout for anything suspicious, we should be fine. Lil, I
know you'll be okay, with all the wedding plans that have to be taken care of.
You know that my mother will be watching your every move..."
Just then the front
door burst open and Aaron came bouncing in. "Hi!" he exclaimed,
excited that everyone was there. He ran over to Lily and gave her a big hug.
"Guess what I got today!"
Lily smiled. "What's that?"
"A new suit to wear to your wedding! Mrs. Potter taked me shopping!"
he grinned.
At that moment Marilyn appeared, carrying a garment bag (and several others).
"Oh good," she said, "You're all here. Help me with this, would
you Remus?" He got up and took the bags from her. "We went and bought
Aaron's suit for the wedding, and that reminded me that you and Sirius still
need to go in for your final tuxedo fittings. And you," she turned to
Lily, "We still have so much to do..."
Lily smiled. "I know, Marilyn. I'll meet you tomorrow for breakfast as
promised and we'll get everything set up."
"Good," she said, looking around the room to see if she had anyone
else to instruct. "You," she pointed at Peter, "We've met
before, haven't we?"
"Um, yes, I think. I'm Peter Petigrew, I was at Hogwarts with all of
them," he said nervously.
"Oh, ok then. You're coming to the wedding, I trust?" Peter nodded.
"Good."
A/N: Got any more reviews to spare??? *puppy dog eyes* thanks!