A/N: You guys are all SO great!  And Marzoog, why yes, I am most definitely a Phantom Phan… have been for roughly 10 years now (give or take) hehehehe 

Anyhow, here's another chapter for all of my wonderful readers… I'm gonna be gone for the next week or so (moving, fun stuff! Or not so much…) but I'll post one more chapter today as well…. Hopefully you guys won't forget about me! J

Chapter 18: The Grieving Period

Over the course of the next few days, Lily worked closely with a wizard by the name of Walter Minning who was one of the owners of Minning & Garner's Wizardly Endings, a funeral parlor that dated back to the 17th century.  Lily wanted to be certain that every detail, from Marilyn's casket, to the flowers to the burial place was perfect.  She would accept nothing less for the service honoring her beloved mother-in-law and baby girl.

By the time the day of the funeral arrived, Lily had moved back in with James, and Claire was staying with them until the time that the Fidelius Charm could once again be performed.

Lily woke up early on Sunday morning and dressed in her nicest black dress and robes.  She then went downstairs and tried to make some breakfast for James and Claire, but ended up simply standing at the kitchen counter staring out the window.  It was 20 minutes before James came downstairs and found her there.

"Are you alright?" he asked, very concerned for her well-being.

"Fine," she answered, blinking herself out of what seemed like a trance.  "Do you want something to eat?"

"No thanks."

"Is Claire up yet?  It's almost time to go…"

"I think she is, I heard her moving around in her room. But I'll go check."  James wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave Lily alone, but he didn't see any other option.  He quickly ran up to his sister's room and knocked on the door.  "You decent?" he asked, trying to joke around.

"Not really, but it'll have to do," she responded, opening the door.  "Is it time yet?"

"Just about," he said.  "Come on."  James headed back downstairs followed by his sister.

When the three remaining Potters arrived at Minning & Garner's Wizardly Endings for the service, they were very surprised to see what a large turnout there was.  It seemed as though everyone from the wizarding world was present.  There were nearly 100 representatives from the Ministry of Magic, Professor Dumbledore along with most of the Hogwarts professors, and members of nearly every wizarding family imaginable.  Even Nicolas Flamel and his wife were present. Lily noticed that Victoria wasn't there, but this was of no surprise as she had taken a vow never to leave the grounds of the Palace of the Prophets.  Lily was also consoled by the fact that Victoria had been there for her when they buried the small child on the Palace grounds.

With Lily and Claire on either side of him, James walked through the crowd of people and up to the front of the chapel area.  The three of them sat in the first pew, and everyone filed in behind them.  Fifteen minutes later, the service began.

Several witches and wizards took turns standing before the large crowd and saying nice things about Marilyn Potter.  Once an old wizard by the name of Garwood Rood finished speaking, James stood up and silently took his place behind the lectern and next to his mother's casket.

"I would like to thank you all for coming today and supporting myself and my family in our time of grief," James began.  "Times like this are never east.  As you are all aware, nearly one month ago my wife, Lily, gave birth to our little girl, Angelica Potter.  For whatever reason though, it was decided that she was too good to remain with us.  Due to many complications, we lost our little angel too soon.  At that time, one of the few people able to comfort me was my mother.  And now, here I stand, grieving once again, but this time without that steady hand to turn to."  Tears were now visible on James's face.  "But, instead of telling you what an amazing person my mother was, how she lived her life for her family and friends, or how anyone who knew her was better off because of it, I would like to take this time to warn all of you.  The world as we know it is in jeopardy.  We all know this.  It is because of this evil presence that my mother is no longer here with us.  If you can do nothing else, please use this loss, my loss, as a reason to value every moment that you have with your friends and loved ones.  There is nothing more important on this earth, and you never know when they will be taken from you.  My mother never did anything to harm anyone.  It wasn't in her nature.  But that didn't stop her from being killed."  James looked down at his mother's casket and then looked up to the sky.  "Mum, I know you're up there watching over us, just like you used to.  I love you, we all love you, and I hope that now you are able to take care of our little Angelica."

Stepping out from behind the lectern, James walked over to the casket, leaned down, and kissed his mother's cheek.  "Bye, mum," he whispered.  He then turned around and returned to his seat in between Lily and Claire.

A few other people spoke after James, but none had anything to say that was quite so moving, or real.  After the service ended, there was a procession to the Potter family graveyard where the burial took place.  Once this was done, there was a gathering held for everyone in attendance.

Once their guests had started to leave, Lily and Claire went to round up some of the Potter house elves to clean up the dishes and platters while James sat and talked to Sirius, Remus and Peter.

"How could he have known?" James asked.

"What do you mean?" Sirius said.

"Voldemort.  He knew that she was the Secret-Keeper.  He had to!  Why else would this have happened…"

"I wish that I had an answer," Peter said, taking a drink of his coffee.

"I wish we all did," Sirius added.  "What are you gonna do now?"

"Get another one, I suppose."

"But why? What is it that Voldemort is after?" Remus asked.

James looked around cautiously.  "Alright, listen.  Lily didn't want me to say anything to anyone about this.  But, since I would trust all of you with my life, I'm going to tell you."

Sirius, Remus and Peter looked at each other, unsure of what to expect.

"Voldemort is after the Sorcerer's Stone."

"What does that have to do with you?" Peter meekly asked.

"It's not me," James said, gesturing toward the next room where Lily was standing talking to Claire.

"Lily…" whispered Remus.

"Exactly," said James.

"Why would you-know-who want the Stone though?" Peter asked again.

"Peter, don't you read anything?  The stone can produce the elixir of life!  It would make Voldemort all but immortal…" Sirius said, suddenly understanding everything.

"So who are you going to use as your new Secret-Keeper?" Remus asked.

"I can't tell you, I think that both Lily and Dumbledore would kill me if I did…"

"Why Dumbledore?"

"He's the one who performed the charm last time, and I'm sure he would like to do it again."

"But why not use him as the Secret-Keeper?" suggested Sirius.

"Something about it just doesn't feel right. I couldn't ask him to put himself into that situation."

"Oh, definitely," Sirius said sarcastically, "I mean, he is only one of the most powerful wizards in the world, and he is also head of the school that we all graduated from, which is one of the safest places in the world. I'm sure he wouldn't want to put himself at risk either."

"It's not like that, Sirius. Really."

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Lily and Claire walked into the room. James shot murderous glances at his friends, and they understood that if they said anything about any of this in front of the girls, they were as good as dead.

Lily sighed and sat down beside James, while Claire sat down between Peter and Remus. "It's all done," Lily told them. "I don't know what else there is for us to do around here."

"We've just got the reading of the will coming up later this week, and then, well, you know…" Claire trailed off.

"Yeah, it's going to be a tough one," James said, nodding. He sat with his arm around Lily's shoulders, and her head leaning on him.

"I'd better get going," Remus said. "I told Aaron I'd visit him at Jem's."

"Is he staying with her now?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, we all decided that it might be better for everyone if he did," Remus told her.

"Oh," Lily said, nodding in agreement. "I understand. Give him my love, won't you?"

"Of course."

It took a while, but gradually, Peter and Sirius each said their goodbyes and left the Potters on their own. Before leaving though, Sirius and James made arrangements to meet early at work the following Monday and get a head start on some things.

"When do we meet with Dumbledore?" Claire asked them once they were alone.

"First thing tomorrow," James replied. "You're still positive that you want to do this though?"

"I've never been more certain of anything in my life."

"Well, if you're sure, I've found a safe place for you to stay. Dumbledore has agreed to take you there himself, after he's performed the charm."

"Alright," Claire agreed.

"Claire, this really means so much to us. You've helped us through so much in this past year…" Lily said.

"That's what sisters are for."

"I wish mine realized that," Lily told her firmly.

"Petunia isn't worth a second thought, Lil," James said. "She's not half the person you are." He then kissed Lily on the forehead. "We should all get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be another big day…"

"Are you staying here? Or are you going home?" asked Claire.

"I think we're going to stay… it's just easier." James said, as Lily nodded.

"Alright then, I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight," Claire told them before heading up the stairs and into her bedroom.

"Come on, Lil. Let's try to sleep." James took Lily's hand and helped her up. They solemnly walked up the stairs together and to James's old room where they changed for bed. "Goodnight, baby," he whispered.

"Goodnight," Lily responded, kissing him. She then curled up next to him on the bed, and felt somewhat safer now that his arms were wrapped around her. It's been too long, she thought to herself just before drifting off.

The following morning, Lily and James woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and breakfast being cooked.

"I guess that Claire made some food," James said sleepily.

Lily took a deep breath before speaking. "Smells like it," she said. "Come on, let's get up." She pushed James's arm off of her and sat up on the small bed. "That's the last time I share a bed with you that's less than a queen size mattress," she laughed.

James groaned. "Well, I'm sorry, your majesty. Next time, I'll know…" He then sat up and stretched, reached for his glasses, and got up.

Lily through a shirt at him, laughed again, and then ran out of the room. "See you downstairs!" she called back to him.

"Morning," Claire said to Lily when she entered the kitchen. "I didn't know what else to do, so I cooked. Have a seat."

"Thanks," Lily said, helping herself to some coffee and toast. "Ah, so you finally decided to join us, eh, Potter?" Lily joked as James walked into the room.

Ignoring her comment, James walked over to Claire and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank for cooking, sis."

Claire smiled. "Don't put me in the middle of this!"

"In the middle of what?" James asked innocently.

"Knock it off, Potter. You heard your sister," Lily grinned. Claire couldn't help but laugh.

James rolled his eyes and grabbed a cup of coffee. "All I said was 'thanks for cooking,'" he muttered.

"James, really," Lily said.

"Yeah, right." James shook his head. "I suppose we had best head for Hogsmeade after breakfast and then go up to Hogwarts from there. Dumbledore is expecting us at half-passed 11."

"That sounds good," agreed Claire.

The three of them spent the rest of the meal eating and drinking in silence. Once everyone was finished, Claire magicked the table cleared and they disapparated to Hogsmeade.

When James, Lily and Claire arrived in front of the Three Broomsticks, they looked around for Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper, who was supposed to meet them and bring them up to the school grounds.

"He's probably inside having a drink," James said, turning to enter the tavern. "Wait out here, I'll be back in a minute."

"Alright," Lily and Claire agreed.

James entered the tavern and couldn't help but smile. He suddenly remembered how excited he had been the first time he set foot inside here, as a second year Hogwarts student. Technically, only 3rd years were allowed out on Hogsmeade visits, but with the aide of his invisibility cloak and his three best friends, who was going to stop them? Oh the trouble we planned in here, James thought. He saw the old table in the back that he used to sit at with Remus, Sirius and Peter and plan their next full moon adventures.

"James Potter!" shouted a booming voice. "Well, I'll be. There ye are! Was jus' enjoyin' a bit o' the finest mulled mead our Rosmerta 'as to offer!"

"It's good to see you again, Hagrid," James told him, extending his hand.

Hagrid shook it graciously. "I'm so very sorry 'bout 'vrything. Your mother was a fine woman."

"Thank you," James whispered.

"We'd bes' be off'n now, eh?"

"Yes, I suppose. Lily and Claire are waiting outside…"

"Ah! Right you are! Mus' be off, Rosmerta! Official Hogwarts bus'ness to be taken care of!"

"Goodbye!" Rosmerta called after Hagrid and James.

"Ah! Lil' Miss Lily! Look at ye! Pur'tier that I coulda even imagined!" Hagrid said, hugging Lily to him.

"It's good to see you, too, Hagrid," Lily smiled.

"An' you! Claire Potter, all grown an' outta trouble, I assume?" Hagrid hugged her as well.

Claire laughed. "I've matured quite a bit since my time here, Hagrid!"

"I'll believe that when I sees it for meself!" Hagrid winked at her. "I think you passed all yer trouble-makin' ways to that brother o' yers, din't ya?"

Claire laughed again. "I had nothing to do with any trouble or crimes that my pest of a brother might have committed while he was at Hogwarts!"

"If'n ya say so!" Hagrid laughed. "Thar's a carriage waiting fer you folk, so let's be off."

Hagrid led them to the waiting carriage, and helped both Lily and Claire in. Once James entered it, Hagrid closed the door behind him and climbed up to the driver's seat.

When the carriage pulled up to the Hogwarts entrance, Professor Dumbledore was already there waiting for them.

"Thank you for bringing the Potters up to the castle for me, Hagrid. I knew I could trust you with something so important."

"Right you are, Professor." Hagrid smiled before walking off back to his hut.

"It saddens me to think of the reason for our meeting here today," Dumbledore began, "but if you will follow me, we shall press on with it."

James, Lily and Claire followed Dumbledore through the winding hallways of Hogwarts and up to his office. "Mars Bar" he said, allowing them access to the hidden stairs. Once they entered his office, he spoke again. "Claire, if you would please have a seat here, we shall begin momentarily."

Claire took the seat offered to her, which happened to be next to Fawkes, Dumbledore's pet phoenix. Once she sat down though, Fawkes began squawking nervously and flew out the window.

"Strange," Dumbledore muttered under his breath. He then nodded at the window and sighed. "Lily, James, if you would please join me out in the hallway for a moment. Claire, not to worry, we shall be right back."

"Of course, Professor," Claire said.

Dumbledore led Lily and James out of his office. But, they didn't stop there. He continued walking with them out of the passageway that led to his office, down a few more corridors, and into Gryffindor common room. School was out for the summer, so the houses were deserted.

"Why have you brought us here?" Lily asked, growing more concerned with every passing second.

"I cannot perform the Fidelius Charm for you today."

"But why not? Claire wants it to be done…" James insisted.

"I'm sure she does, but that isn't Claire," Dumbledore told them.

"Wha- wh- I- I don't un- understand," stammered James.

Dumbledore shook his head and heaved a great sigh. "The woman who sits in my office does bear a striking resemblance to you sister, James, but I very much regret to inform you that that is not Claire Potter."

"Who is it?" whispered Lily.

"I honestly couldn't say. I had my suspicions about this alleged Claire earlier, and that is why I brought her to my office. Fawkes knew Claire in her time here, and I feel quite confident in telling you that he would not have reacted in such a way had that actually been her."

"But why? Why Claire?" asked James.

"Voldemort and his supporters will stop at nothing to get the Stone from you. You know that just as well as I."

"What do we do?" asked Lily, placing one hand over her heart as she lowered herself onto one of the common room couches.

"Now, we wait," Dumbledore told them. "Whoever it is will be forced to show themselves soon enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Just watch." Dumbledore waved his wand at the common room fireplace and the flames disappeared, only to be replaced by the image of his office. Lily and James could see "Claire" sitting in front of the great desk looking around her nervously. They then saw her pull something out of her handbag, a small vile. James squinted trying to get a better look at it. Dumbledore wasted no time. He quickly pointed his wand at the vile and said "Replacio a leu!" The imposter Claire looked around to make sure no one was looking, and quickly drank from the vile. Smiling to herself, she returned the vile to her bag.

It took a few minutes before anything happened, but when it did, neither James nor Lily could believe their eyes.

Claire began to transform before their eyes!  No longer did they see James's beautiful sister, with her shoulder length brown curls and stunning blue eyes, but instead a strange woman was sitting there now.  A woman with pale skin and pitch black hair. 

"Who is she?" demanded James.

"Catherine Lestrange," said Dumbledore, barely able to believe his eyes.  "I never would have expected this from her, to go over to the dark side."

"Why do I know that name?" Lily asked, racking her brain trying to find the answer.

"She was Head Girl in her time here at Hogwarts.  One of the few ever to come from Slytherin."

"That's right…"

"What do we do now?" James asked, growing very disgusted.  He started to reach toward the fireplace, as if to grab this stranger, but Lily managed to pull him back.

"James, now is not the time," Dumbledore said.  "Somehow, she has not yet realized that she transformed back to her own form."

"How did she do that though?  Why would she mess it all up now?"

"The spell that I cast.  I turned the potion to water, so that we could get a glimpse of our dear friend.  Now please, do excuse me for a moment.  I must contact the Ministry at once."  He looked at James.  "Do not try to apprehend her on your own.  Do you understand?"

"No.  Why shouldn't I?"

"Because we still do not know of your sister's whereabouts.  She might very well still be alive, and there is no reason for you to jeopardize that at this moment.  Now please, wait here and keep watch over her."

"But I don't understand why we have to handle this here, Albus," said a man's voice.

"Kenneth, have you not been listening to a word I've told you?" Dumbledore asked, obviously getting rather annoyed by his guest.  "Phoenix feather!" he shouted, perhaps with a bit more force than he intended, at the Fat Lady, before the portrait swung open and Dumbledore stepped into the common room followed by a very huffy Minister of Magic.

"Mr. Turnipseed!" exclaimed James, jumping to his feet.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, we meet yet again," Turnipseed sighed.  He turned back to Dumbledore.  "Well, where is she then?"

"I told you, Kenneth, she is in my office.  There." He pointed to the fireplace.  "Look for yourself.  She appeared to be Claire Potter when we left her there, and now we suddenly have Catherine.  What would you venture to say happened?"

The Minister stared into the fireplace for a moment longer, and then, without hesitation, made a startling declaration.  "I will send for the dementors at once."

"You will do no such thing!" Dumbledore told him.  "So long as I am headmaster of this school, there will never be such an occasion as to warrant the need for those creatures on the grounds.  Ms. Lestrange will be apprehended by some of your best men, Kenneth, and set to trial as is customary.  I refuse to allow you to take any other course of action."

"Bring the dementors!  She deserves it for what she's done to my sister!" James cried.

"James, now is neither the place nor the time.  You must wait."

Lily took a hold of James's arm.  "Really, darling.  Calm down, we'll figure all of this out.  That's why Professor Dumbledore sent for Mr. Turnipseed after all…" she whispered to him.

James shook her off of him though.  "I don't care, Lil!  Don't you see? Claire is the only family I have left! And now in all likelihood, I've lost her too!"  He sat down in a chair and buried his face in his hands.  Lily sat next to him on the armrest and put her arms around him.  "Just do what you have to do to find my sister, please, Mr. Turnipseed, I beg of you."

"I shall do all that is within my power to bring this young woman to justice."  Turnipseed then turned and exited through the portrait hole followed by Dumbledore.

James remained seated with his face buried, and Lily with her arms around him while she continued to look into the fireplace. 

"James, look," she whispered.

Looking up just in time, James and Lily watched in awe as Ministry officials advanced on Catherine Lestrange.  A great shadow had been cast across Catherine's face as she sat in Dumbledore's office.  It looked as though something was blocking the window.  She instinctually turned to see what it was, but as she was turning around, her gaze passed over a mirror.  She screamed when she saw that the reflecting staring back at her was her own and not that of Claire Potter.  Just then, the cause of the shadow was revealed.  Two wizards entered the room through the window, while three others approached Catherine from the opposite side of the room.  It looked as thought she was trying to disapparate, but she was unable to given that Hogwarts restricted such actions.  Then, as if from nowhere, Catherine adopted a more confident air about her.  It was as if something had swept over her, causing her to no longer fear the wizards from the Ministry of Magic.  She simply smiled at them, and allowed herself to be led away in their custody.

Lily kissed the top of James's head.  "They've got her," she sighed.  "It's only a matter of time now before they find Claire…"

James nodded, but didn't say anything.  His gaze was fixed upon the fireplace which had since gone black and returned to its usual state.

The portrait suddenly swung open allowing Dumbledore to enter.  This time he was accompanied not by Turnipseed, but Sirius instead. 

"What are you doing here?" asked James.

"I was one of the Aurors sent for to catch Lestrange," Sirius replied.

"And?"

"They're taking her now to a holding area for questioning.  Shulstad and Chisolm have already been sent to bring her husband, Edward, in.  You know that we've been keeping an eye on them for a while, and this might be all we need to convict."

"Who are they?" Lily asked looking from Sirius to James and then back again.

"Who?"

"Well, all of them I suppose…"

"Shulstad and Chisolm are Aurors that we've been working with on the Voldemort case," Sirius explained. "As for Catherine and Edward Lestrange, well, we've suspected of being Death Eaters for quite some time now, and this might just be the proof we needed…"

Just then the fire began to glow again, only this time Chisolm's head appeared amidst the flames.

"Sirius?" he called.  "Are you still there?"  Everyone gathered in front of the fireplace.  "Ah, James, you're there as well.  You'll want to hear this, I'm sure."

"What is it? What did you find?" James asked anxiously.

"We got him, Lestrange.  As of yet, they haven't said anything about Claire Potter's location, but I feel certain that we will make them talk.  Just wanted to let you know…"

"Thank you, Chisolm," Sirius said.  "I'll meet you back at the office shortly."

"Right-o!"  And with that, his image disappeared from the flames.

"I've got to get back to work," Sirius said apologetically looking from James to Lily.  "I'll come 'round as soon as I can."

"Actually, if you don't mind, Lil, I think I'm going to go in with him," James said.

"No, that's fine.  I understand…"

"You'll be ok?" James asked, looking worriedly at his wife.

Lily forced a small smile.  "Don't worry about me."  She sighed.  "I'll be fine."

"Lily and I actually have a bit to talk about, and this should give us quite the opportunity," Dumbledore told them.

"Well, if you're sure?"  Lily nodded.  "Alright then, I'll see you at home as soon as I can."  James kissed his wife goodbye and then left the common room through the portrait hole followed by Sirius.