Mr and Mrs Harry Potter kicked their daughter and their friends out
of their house at 2.00 in the morning. They would be leaving on a honeymoon
after they returned Lily to school January seventh.
"I can't believe they're married." Ron said.
"I can't believe they just got married in the middle of the front room." Draco said.
"I can. He wanted to get married before she turned evil." Ron replied.
"Too late." Seamus muttered.
"Where are we going to go?"
"The pub?"
"Malfoy, we are three dashing, unattached males. We are going to the gentlemen's club."
"Weasley's right. What have we got to lose?"
"What are we going to do with the kids?"
"Here's twenty galleons. Go home and order a pizza. We'll be back around twelve."
"Twelve noon?"
"Twelve midnight."
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They went back to the Weasley house and sat down in Anna's bedroom. "My dad just got married."
"Ain't it peachy?"
"Poor Caroline. Now what are you going to do?"
"Shut up Will."
"Are you going to call her mum?"
"I don't know. Probably not. It would be kind of uncomfortable. Don't you think?"
"Why do you think they decided to get married so soon?"
"I think that they're worried that there's going to be another war. Soon."
"But nothing has really happened, since what? October? September?"
"Not here. But in other areas of the world. In Bulgaria and Malaysia there are reports of increased Dark activity, and there have been some killings of American Muggles."
"That's a relief. I thought they might have been important."
"William!" Lily exclaimed. "What an awful thing to say! Your grandparents are Muggles."
"Oh I have nothing against Muggles. It's the American's I have a problem with."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. The point is, There's going to be another war. The Dark Army has just been waiting for this moment. There's no telling when they'll rise up."
"I don't know. If they wanted to do that they would've done it already."
"Are you kidding? Last time it took them seventeen years to start a war. This time they're working fast."
"What if there is a war? What do we do then? We can't fight."
"What if we have to?"
"We can't! We don't know half as much magic as we need to defeat them. Marit knows that, and she won't attack until Our parents have been killed. My dad specifically."
"All she needs to do is kill Harry. And then she's home free."
"I don't think so. It passes through. Because she got You-Know-Who's drive and power, Lily should have Harry's. She needs to kill both of them."
"I need some air." Lily said suddenly. "I'll be back in ten."
She got up and walked out of the house, barely pausing to put her cloak on. Everyone was so sure about everything. Everyone except for her. She knew that she would be relatively safe as long as she was at Hogwarts, but beyond that? She wouldn't be safe until Marit was killed. She wandered down a hill on the far side of the town, at the bottom there was a narrow rock ledge that she often slipped beneath when she needed to be alone. She was surprised to see Draco there already.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here already. I'll go."
"No no. I just needed to get outside. Sit down. What's on your mind?"
Lily sat down and looked at Draco. "I know what I have to do Draco, but I have no idea how to do it."
Draco nodded and pushed back his sleeves. Lily winced when she saw the Dark Mark on his arm, standing out like a fierce red burn. He looked at his arm too, and sighed. "I knew what I had to do too. And there was so much. But I already had a reputation, and I had a future set out for me. I would follow in my father's footsteps. By the time I was sixteen it was well known that I was a favourite to succeed Voldemort as Dark Lord. No one knew Voldemort had a daughter, and even if they had, no one would have cared. Malfoy was the name of the century, and they would accept only a Malfoy as Dark Lord."
"Why did you change your mind?"
"My girlfriend got pregnant. I didn't know at the time that it wasn't my child, and frankly, I didn't care, I just knew that I couldn't put any child, least of all my own, in the position my parents had put me in. But of course no one trusted me to put my past behind me. I didn't trust myself. As a matter of fact the only person who trusted me in that time was your father."
"Why?"
"There are five secret chambers in Hogwarts. The Chamber of Secrets, which you were in this autumn, The Chamber of Whispers, which is Ravenclaw's chamber, and is located somewhere in the back of the library, then there's the Chamber of Light, which is Hufflepuff's chamber and is located directly below the kitchens. After that there's the Chamber of Bravado, Gryffindor's chamber, somewhere near the Great Hall. And then there's a final chamber, made by all four of the founders. The Chamber of Hero's. Your father and I found ourselves in there about six months after I decided to turn myself around. Your father had no wand, his arm was broken and he was caught between a narrow ledge and the wall. I had my wand but I could have killed him even without it. But I didn't. I pulled him out and let him go. That was when he knew. If I had killed him right then, stepped on his fingers and watched him fall, I would have taken Voldemort's place as Dark Lord. But instead I pulled him out. He never told anyone about what happened down there. But I saved his life, and by telling no one what had happened, he saved mine."
"But it was so clear for you, what you had to do. I have nothing of the sort to guide me. I'm going to let everyone down. I haven't even been a witch my whole life."
Draco leaned down and took something between his fingers. "This is called wild mountain thyme. Muggle plants have difficulty surviving in Edil, and, for that matter, any other wizarding colony because of the magical properties in the soil, the air and he rain. This kind of thyme, however, has a remarkable versatility, and even though it's a Muggle plant it survives here."
"How?" Lily asked, fighting the bizarre urge to cry.
Draco smiled. "Because this plant needs to grow here. And so do you, Lily. It has nothing to do with Muggle or Wizard, Dark or Light. It has to do with this land, this place. People can fight for themselves, Lily. But this land can't. Do you love this place?"
"Yes. Draco, what does this have to do with-"
Draco stood up suddenly and seized Lily's hands, turning her towards the horizon. "Look at this Lily. Look at this place, this country. Do you love this place?" He asked again.
"Yes."
"Good. When you have to fight, when you have to attack, when you have to choose what you want to do, remember this place. Death-eaters don't care about the land, Lily, they don't care about all the beauty in this world. Neither do people who are neutral, they claim to love the land, but unless you're willing to protect it, you don't love it. Remember this place when you fight, remember what you want to come home to. People are fickle things to fight for, Lily. You can't trust them to be faithful, and you can't rust them to be alive the next day. But this land will. This land will always be here." He sat down again, and lifted some of the thyme. "This plant knows that, and it'll hold fast, even after the last person has turned their back. This thyme will be here for as long as you fight for this land, it'll be here when you leave, and eventually it'll crack through your body and grow more. Remember Lily, it's the nature of people to turn their backs."
Lily looked at Draco and blinked. This was the most he'd spoken in then entire time she'd known him. 'Wow." She said softly, and he smiled.
"Well, come on now, the night is young, and so are half of us." He winked. "And I believe there is a certain young man waiting at the top of the hill for you."
Lily blushed and hurried up the hill. She looked back once but Draco had already gone.
"I can't believe they're married." Ron said.
"I can't believe they just got married in the middle of the front room." Draco said.
"I can. He wanted to get married before she turned evil." Ron replied.
"Too late." Seamus muttered.
"Where are we going to go?"
"The pub?"
"Malfoy, we are three dashing, unattached males. We are going to the gentlemen's club."
"Weasley's right. What have we got to lose?"
"What are we going to do with the kids?"
"Here's twenty galleons. Go home and order a pizza. We'll be back around twelve."
"Twelve noon?"
"Twelve midnight."
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````
They went back to the Weasley house and sat down in Anna's bedroom. "My dad just got married."
"Ain't it peachy?"
"Poor Caroline. Now what are you going to do?"
"Shut up Will."
"Are you going to call her mum?"
"I don't know. Probably not. It would be kind of uncomfortable. Don't you think?"
"Why do you think they decided to get married so soon?"
"I think that they're worried that there's going to be another war. Soon."
"But nothing has really happened, since what? October? September?"
"Not here. But in other areas of the world. In Bulgaria and Malaysia there are reports of increased Dark activity, and there have been some killings of American Muggles."
"That's a relief. I thought they might have been important."
"William!" Lily exclaimed. "What an awful thing to say! Your grandparents are Muggles."
"Oh I have nothing against Muggles. It's the American's I have a problem with."
Caroline rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter. The point is, There's going to be another war. The Dark Army has just been waiting for this moment. There's no telling when they'll rise up."
"I don't know. If they wanted to do that they would've done it already."
"Are you kidding? Last time it took them seventeen years to start a war. This time they're working fast."
"What if there is a war? What do we do then? We can't fight."
"What if we have to?"
"We can't! We don't know half as much magic as we need to defeat them. Marit knows that, and she won't attack until Our parents have been killed. My dad specifically."
"All she needs to do is kill Harry. And then she's home free."
"I don't think so. It passes through. Because she got You-Know-Who's drive and power, Lily should have Harry's. She needs to kill both of them."
"I need some air." Lily said suddenly. "I'll be back in ten."
She got up and walked out of the house, barely pausing to put her cloak on. Everyone was so sure about everything. Everyone except for her. She knew that she would be relatively safe as long as she was at Hogwarts, but beyond that? She wouldn't be safe until Marit was killed. She wandered down a hill on the far side of the town, at the bottom there was a narrow rock ledge that she often slipped beneath when she needed to be alone. She was surprised to see Draco there already.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here already. I'll go."
"No no. I just needed to get outside. Sit down. What's on your mind?"
Lily sat down and looked at Draco. "I know what I have to do Draco, but I have no idea how to do it."
Draco nodded and pushed back his sleeves. Lily winced when she saw the Dark Mark on his arm, standing out like a fierce red burn. He looked at his arm too, and sighed. "I knew what I had to do too. And there was so much. But I already had a reputation, and I had a future set out for me. I would follow in my father's footsteps. By the time I was sixteen it was well known that I was a favourite to succeed Voldemort as Dark Lord. No one knew Voldemort had a daughter, and even if they had, no one would have cared. Malfoy was the name of the century, and they would accept only a Malfoy as Dark Lord."
"Why did you change your mind?"
"My girlfriend got pregnant. I didn't know at the time that it wasn't my child, and frankly, I didn't care, I just knew that I couldn't put any child, least of all my own, in the position my parents had put me in. But of course no one trusted me to put my past behind me. I didn't trust myself. As a matter of fact the only person who trusted me in that time was your father."
"Why?"
"There are five secret chambers in Hogwarts. The Chamber of Secrets, which you were in this autumn, The Chamber of Whispers, which is Ravenclaw's chamber, and is located somewhere in the back of the library, then there's the Chamber of Light, which is Hufflepuff's chamber and is located directly below the kitchens. After that there's the Chamber of Bravado, Gryffindor's chamber, somewhere near the Great Hall. And then there's a final chamber, made by all four of the founders. The Chamber of Hero's. Your father and I found ourselves in there about six months after I decided to turn myself around. Your father had no wand, his arm was broken and he was caught between a narrow ledge and the wall. I had my wand but I could have killed him even without it. But I didn't. I pulled him out and let him go. That was when he knew. If I had killed him right then, stepped on his fingers and watched him fall, I would have taken Voldemort's place as Dark Lord. But instead I pulled him out. He never told anyone about what happened down there. But I saved his life, and by telling no one what had happened, he saved mine."
"But it was so clear for you, what you had to do. I have nothing of the sort to guide me. I'm going to let everyone down. I haven't even been a witch my whole life."
Draco leaned down and took something between his fingers. "This is called wild mountain thyme. Muggle plants have difficulty surviving in Edil, and, for that matter, any other wizarding colony because of the magical properties in the soil, the air and he rain. This kind of thyme, however, has a remarkable versatility, and even though it's a Muggle plant it survives here."
"How?" Lily asked, fighting the bizarre urge to cry.
Draco smiled. "Because this plant needs to grow here. And so do you, Lily. It has nothing to do with Muggle or Wizard, Dark or Light. It has to do with this land, this place. People can fight for themselves, Lily. But this land can't. Do you love this place?"
"Yes. Draco, what does this have to do with-"
Draco stood up suddenly and seized Lily's hands, turning her towards the horizon. "Look at this Lily. Look at this place, this country. Do you love this place?" He asked again.
"Yes."
"Good. When you have to fight, when you have to attack, when you have to choose what you want to do, remember this place. Death-eaters don't care about the land, Lily, they don't care about all the beauty in this world. Neither do people who are neutral, they claim to love the land, but unless you're willing to protect it, you don't love it. Remember this place when you fight, remember what you want to come home to. People are fickle things to fight for, Lily. You can't trust them to be faithful, and you can't rust them to be alive the next day. But this land will. This land will always be here." He sat down again, and lifted some of the thyme. "This plant knows that, and it'll hold fast, even after the last person has turned their back. This thyme will be here for as long as you fight for this land, it'll be here when you leave, and eventually it'll crack through your body and grow more. Remember Lily, it's the nature of people to turn their backs."
Lily looked at Draco and blinked. This was the most he'd spoken in then entire time she'd known him. 'Wow." She said softly, and he smiled.
"Well, come on now, the night is young, and so are half of us." He winked. "And I believe there is a certain young man waiting at the top of the hill for you."
Lily blushed and hurried up the hill. She looked back once but Draco had already gone.