I am ever so very sorry for this horrible, horrible wait!! I love you all for being patient, and I hope this is up to par…You can expect one more chapter and then an epilogue, then SoL is finished! Look for its companions – a fifth year fic starring Gwen, Sirius, Remus, and of course, Harry.
Thanks to my awesome betas – ReineDansante and Snowlily, who I love, and also many thanks to Xaviera Xylira for being there!
I apologize once again – but can you all believe that as of Thanksgiving I will have been writing this story for a year??
Cheers,
Bella
The Story of Lily
You, you gave me love
Love gave us hope and strength
To carry on and
You, you gave me faith
When I was fallin' down
You would pick me up, my love
~Courtesy of Celine Dion's "Dreamin' of You"
Chapter Twenty-One: Strange (and Wonderful) Happenings
"Lily! You ready?"
"Oh – oh, yes, of course, James." Lily rolled her eyes and stifled a moan but walked down the stairs from the study and joined her husband in the foyer. "Ready!" she said with forced brightness.
James saw right through her, but had the sense to not say anything, for which Lily was immensely grateful. Together husband and wife walked out of their home and Apparated away.
They arrived behind the large oak tree in the park across from Buckingham Palace, passed through the tree, arrived in the manicured lawn in front of the Ministry, and soon were squinting in the sudden dark of the inside.
"Ah, and here are the Potters!"
Lily and James squinted to see two men coming towards them – the Minister and another man Lily had never seen before.
The Minister beamed and hugged Lily ("So very fortunate we found you!"), and then shook hands with James. Lily noticed with a slight start that the Minister was graying, and the hair on top of his head was sparse. She wondered why she hadn't ever noticed it before, but her wonderings were cut short as the tall man with Minister Watson stepped forward. He was almost unbearably neat, with dark hair and a perfectly trimmed moustache, and he reminded Lily of someone…
"Lily, this is Bartemius Crouch, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Barty, this is Lily Eva – er, Potter. Forgive me."
Lily smiled, but before she could shake his hand, he bowed curtly to her and then turned to James. The Minister made the introductions and James shook Mr. Crouch's hand seriously.
"Now, you'll be wondering why I have brought Barty – it's because, Lily, you will probably be spending the most time with him. He is the judge of the trials of the few Death Eaters we do catch, or supposed Death Eaters…James, I assume you're here on Auror business?"
James smiled. "Yes, sir. Lily, I'll see you later – if I'm late, don't wait for me, alright?"
"Oh, very well, then."
He kissed her on the cheek and began walking towards the great Auror Department door, while the Minister took her elbow and led her to a different door, with Crouch walking stiffly behind.
"…and I have got you an office, isn't that nice?"
"Oh – oh, yes, thank you, very nice." An office? Surely she wouldn't be spending that much time here… "Minister, could you tell me what it is exactly that I'll be doing?"
"I'm going to leave that up to Barty, I think," he grinned as they stopped in front of a large door, bigger than the Auror Department door. "Here we are – I'll be going back to my office. Goodbye for now, Lily."
"Goodbye, Minister."
Lily turned to Crouch. "Please, go ahead, Mrs. Potter," he said formally, and Lily was suddenly struck with who he reminded her of – Giles the butler.
Stifling a smile, Lily turned and faced the door, drew her wand, and stuck it into the black box. She went through the routine of hearing its excited voice shouting out her titles (and for some odd reason it made her flush slightly with pleasure – Crouch was obviously an important Ministry member) and hurrying through the door.
The room on the other side was not what she had expected – instead, she was at the start of a very long hall of doors, with neat brass plaques on them all. The walls were stone painted white, and everything looked too neat to belong.
Lily remembered just in time to move away from the door as Crouch walked smartly in; he nodded at her, and strode off towards the door directly opposite them. She had to walk quickly to keep up with his long strides, and the object of her attention was mostly on not tripping over the hem of her new robes. She nearly collided with him as he came to a dead stop.
"Your wand, madam," he said, gesturing to the black box. Lily once again stuck her wand inside, but instead of yelling out her titles, the box gave a sort of disdainful sniff, flashed, and said, "Access granted." Lily thought she heard it muttering as she stepped through the door and was admitted into another spotless office. Crouch came soon behind her.
"I haven't a secretary," he began, striding to the large desk in the corner that rivaled the Minister's. "I find them bothersome. I much prefer looking after things myself."
"Ah," Lily said, nodding wisely. Crouch glanced up from shuffling through a neat pile of papers and gestured to one of the chairs in front of him. "Please, take a seat."
Lily obeyed, smoothing her robes down as she did, feeling quite inferior. Crouch took his seat and continued rifling papers. Lily took the opportunity to look around his office; the few, neat pictures in matching frames he had seemed to feature a thin, wispy-looking woman and a blond boy, each time varying in age, and some of himself.
"Is that your family?" she asked before she could stop herself.
Crouch looked up and nodded. "Yes. My wife Alice and my son, Bartemius Crouch, Jr."
"How old is he, sir?"
Crouch looked at her in slight surprise briefly, before covering it up with, "He's just turned twelve," and returning to his papers.
"How lovely, sir."
Crouch looked up again. "Mrs. Potter – you needn't call me 'sir', if you wish."
Lily blushed horribly; luckily, Crouch was at his papers again. She desperately tried to calm herself down, do anything to cool the fire in her cheeks. You needn't call him sir, Lily. What's wrong with you? He isn't that much older! Only a few years…well, more like ten…
A thought suddenly occurred to her that made her go even redder. They were the same "rank" within the Ministry. She might even be higher than him. How horrible!
Crouch finally sat down, pulling out a few sheets of parchment.
"Mrs. Potter, down to business. I will read off my information sheet about you – please correct me if anything I say is wrong. Name: Lily Carolyn Evans Potter. Born: July sixteenth, 1959…"
He went on to list everything she did at Hogwarts, from the number of O.W.L.'s she received to how many total House points she lost, so that when he was finished, her head was reeling.
"Does everything sound about right?"
"Oh – oh yes, I believe so."
"Excellent. Now, onto a more serious note…" He looked up at her grimly and removed his small spectacles. "There are some, Mrs. Potter, who you are undoubtedly unaware of, that wish to regulate the powers of an Adviser."
Lily's eyebrow's shot up. "Regulate, si – er…"
"Mr. Crouch is fine, Mrs. Potter. Yes, regulate. They believe that when you use your powers, it works in the exact way of the Truth Potion Veritaserum, which is, of course, strictly controlled and very difficult to brew. On the other side of this debate, others argue that since your powers are so much easier to access, using them will be for the better of us. I personally see both points of the argument… how do you feel about this?"
"Me? Well, I'm not quite sure." She took one look at his skeptical face and began speaking again. "It's very valid, of course…whatever you would like me to do."
He cleared his throat. "Well, until this issue is resolved, I'm afraid there isn't much to do…But what I will have you do if no restrictions are put on your powers is simply to question those we capture."
"And – sir, will it be at random times? I'm a bit confused about that…"
"I'm not quite sure – your aunt, God rest her soul, was too young to do this the last time – during Grindelwald's reign – and there wasn't much for her to do before, and so, of course, she went into law. I think they will be random, of course, but if we capture suspects in the middle of the night we will certainly wait and contact you in the morning." He looked at her closely. "You know Albus Dumbledore wishes you to be very much in the thick of things, Mrs. Potter."
Lily looked down. She had stopped reading the Daily Prophet a while ago, and couldn't watch James when he read it, so honestly she didn't know how thick the thick of things actually was. Perhaps she should grab a copy of the newspaper on her way out? And perhaps talk to James about what he did when his Summoner flashed? Lily's heart always skipped whenever that dratted thing went off, and even if James returned after hours of being away, dirty, scratched, and drained, she never asked…
Lily wasn't about to mention all this to Crouch, however, so she merely nodded.
"I'm glad you understand. Now, I believe that is all." Crouch stood and extended his hand. "We haven't any captives at the moment, but I will contact you as soon as something arises that needs your immediate attention."
"Of course," Lily said, shaking his cold hand and fixing a smile on her face.
"I have some paper work to finish, but I daresay you know your way out?"
"Yes – yes, I believe so. Thank you, Mr. Crouch."
"Thank you, Mrs. Potter. Good day."
"Good day," she said, and walked out of the room a little bit quicker than normal. There was a strange sense of foreboding around that man… She absently walked down the corridor and through the big sliding door.
Flash.
Before Lily's eyes, something happened – one moment, she was outside of the door, and the next, she was standing on the edge of a wood. In a sort of dream she moved towards the noises, and a scene flashed before her – a boy, being tugged to his feet by a madman, standing next to a tall, dark haired young man…
And suddenly, she was back at the Ministry. The vision had happened so fast, Lily's head was spinning.
James was waiting for her, standing with a man she didn't recognize.
"Lily, there you are," he said, striding towards her, the man behind him. "Is everything set?"
Lily closed her eyes and shook her head. She looked briefly behind James at the man behind him – he was tall, with a good-natured face and dark hair. "Yes, everything's fine," but her eyes told a different story.
James raised his eyebrows, but turned to the man behind him. "Oh, sorry – Lils, this is Frank Longbottom – Frank, this is my wife, Lily."
Frank shook her hand, smiling. "Wonderful to finally meet you."
"Lily, Frank is in my division – he's just a baby, you see, a new Auror." James clapped his friend on the back. "I've invited him and his fiancée Anna to dinner on Saturday…I hope that's alright with you."
Lily nodded, still thinking about the apparition – she needed to write it down before she forgot everything. "Yes, that's lovely."
"I'll look forward to seeing you, then!" Frank said cheerfully. "Are you leaving now, then?"
"Yes, I think so," James said, casting a look at his occupied wife. "Come on, Lily."
"James," she said suddenly, looking up at him, "may I speak with you, please?"
He sensed the urgency in her voice and looked at Frank. "You go ahead, Frank – I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow."
He looked at the couple curiously, but said nothing. "Yes – it was a pleasure meeting you, Lily – I'll see you on Saturday."
"Yes, alright," Lily said, forcing a smile.
"Goodbye," James said, and Frank waved, before exiting the building.
Quite suddenly, the world started spinning. Lily doubled over, feeling nauseous, vaguely aware of James's cries.
And, quite suddenly, it all ended.
She stood up straight, breathing heavily, and pressed a hand to her head. James held her shoulders, looking very alarmed. "Lily! What's wrong? Do you need a doctor?!"
"No," she whispered, "no, we need to go to Hogwarts."
"Hogwarts? What-"
"Now…we need to go now…"
~*~*~*~*
Only when the door shut did Professor Albus Dumbledore let a sigh burst from his lips. He leaned back in his chair and looked straight ahead of himself thoughtfully. That surely had been interesting – Lily Potter had come in, dragging her husband, looking as though she would collapse, and had hurriedly explained some sort of vision to her old headmaster as best as she could.
So, it had already begun.
Albus assumed that She would wait at least a few more years, but perhaps Her Sister had told Her differently.
He mulled the vision in his head. Three men of varying ages – one elderly, one young, and one very young all in a clearing together.
Well, that told him next to nothing.
He sighed again, and hoped deeply that She sent another vision to Lily so Lily would know exactly when that vision took place, or where, or to whom. He sent up a quick prayer to the Couple, and then stood heavily and began to walk down to lunch, expelling the bad thoughts from his head and wondering if he would have iced or warm pumpkin juice with his meal.
~*~*~*~*
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Potter,
You are cordially invited to the Midwinter Ball, to be held on twenty-third December at the Black House, hosted by His Excellency Minister George Watson, Mrs. Elizabeth Watson, Mr. Sirius Black, and Ms. Hayley Miller.
"What? James! Would you look at this! Sirius is hosting something! Why didn't he tell us?"
James made his way to her, clutching his tea. "Would you look at that," he muttered, scanning the formal invitation. "He mumbled something about a ball to me but I didn't pay much attention. I think I'll go Floo him."
Lily followed him into the living room and sat down on the couch, tucking her feet up under her, re-reading the invitation.
"Jamie?"
"Hmm?"
"Should we go to this ball thing?"
"Do you want to?"
Lily looked up at him pensively. "I don't know. Do you?"
"I think it might be fun…a lot of the top Ministry members are going to be there – I think we should go." He grabbed a pinch of green powder from the mantle and dug into his pockets for his wand. "Love-"
Before he could get the sentence out, a fire was crackling heartily in the grate.
"Show off," he muttered, grinning at her. She grinned back.
He knelt down and then tossed the pinch into the flames. They turned green, and he called, "Black House!" and stuck his head into the flames.
Lily waited patiently, as she couldn't hear the conversation, and after a few moments, James removed his head and sat back, shaking his hair out of his eyes. Lily extinguished the fire and James came over to sit by her, a smile on his face. "Apparently, George and Elizabeth talked him into it, and Hayley begged…he was quite peeved, and Gwen was in stitches…She sends her love, by the way."
Lily chuckled and sipped her tea. "How funny – sounds like them. So, what should I do for dinner?"
"I don't know. Frank and Anna aren't expecting a lavish meal, love." He smiled, and then it dropped, and he fixed her with an intent stare. "Lily, you haven't had anymore visions, have you?"
She looked at him curiously. "James, you know I would tell you if I had."
"I know," he sighed, looking frustrated. "It's just, this is so puzzling – Dumbledore doesn't know what to think. I honestly hope whoever sent you this vision sends another."
"Who do you think sends them?" she asked.
James sighed. "Well, you know Dumbledore – he believes in an ancient deity nearly forgotten by wizardkind. It's basically the personification of Fate and Destiny – sisters, called the Couple."
Lily nodded. "I think I remember hearing a bit about an ancient religion in History of Magic."
"Yes, and that's it, and he still believes in it – my father did, too, and my mum."
"Really?"
"Yes – and I've grown up around it, you know? So I sort of believe it – I believe that someone, probably one of the Couple, is sending you visions, but I don't know why, and neither does Dumbledore…"
They were silent, each thinking hard.
"So the ball's a go?" Lily said quietly, after a few moments.
"I think so – we'll talk to Frank and Anna tonight – I think Frank's been to a Midwinter Ball. Mum and Dad used to always go to them."
~*~*~*~*
"Lily! Lils, darling, they're here," James said, poking his head into the kitchen. Lily looked up from stirring her soup; she put the lid on, wiped her hands, took off her apron, and followed her husband out of the kitchen. They walked into the front hall and James opened the door.
Tall, muscular Frank stood there, one arm wrapped around a short, plump, sweet looking blonde who had a large smile on her face.
"Ah, Frank!" James cried, leaping outside to shake his hand. He turned to the woman, who had to be Anna – and beamed at her. "And you must be Anna."
"I am," she confirmed, sticking her hand out. "Very nice to meet you, James!"
James pulled Lily out, who was wearing a hospitable smile, and she shook hands and exchanged greetings with Frank, and then was introduced to Anna. The four headed inside after a short time – it was freezing, and looked as though it would snow at any moment.
"May I get you a drink, Frank, Anna?" Lily asked as James took their cloaks to the closet. "Red wine, white wine?"
"Red, please, if you don't mind," Frank said, smiling at her.
"I'd love a glass too, love," James put in, giving her a glowing, happy look.
"Oh, Lily, let me help you," Anna insisted.
"Lovely. James, take our guest into the living room, won't you?" Lily said, throwing him an amused glance, and walking into the dining room to the bar. Anna reached up and got four glasses while Lily looked for the wine.
"So, Anna – what is it that you do?" Lily asked socially, opening another low cabinet door.
"I'm in training to be a nurse," Anna said, leaning her elbows on top of the counter. Her small diamond-and-gold ring caught the light, and Lily smiled a small smile.
"That must be wonderful."
"Oh, yes, very," Anna said, but her tone told Lily differently. Lily glanced up at her and then back down again, and cleared her throat.
"You don't like it, then?"
Anna started. "Oh, no, it isn't that I don't like it, it's just – I've really lost my passion for it, since…"
The women exchanged a wordless glance – ever since the attacks became disgustingly inhumane, since they became more frequent…
"I remember you from Hogwarts, you know," Anna said suddenly. Lily spotted the wine rack and pulled out the red and white bottles.
"Do you, now?" she said distractedly, reading the labels. "What year were you when I graduated?"
"Fifth." She smiled. "We were all terribly jealous when it got round that you and James Potter were officially a couple."
Lily grinned and opened a drawer, hunting for a corkscrew. "Were you?"
"Oh, yes," she said solemnly, coming around to stand next to Lily and help her search. "Horribly."
"And when did you and Frank get together?"
"Oh, we're the same year – known each other since first year." She shrugged. "I dunno, we've sort of always been 'together'." A dreamy expression filled her dark blue eyes. "I wouldn't trade him for all the gold in Gringotts."
Lily hid a smile. "That's very romantic."
"Really?" Anna said incredulously, "How?"
"More romantic then ours is, anyway."
"Tell me yours, then, and I'll decide," Anna said, looking at her eagerly.
Something in her dark blue eyes flashed, and a moment later, Lily was standing in an office…a man whose back was to her was handing a chubby boy a book, the boy looking at him beamingly.
A second later it was gone, and Lily was facing Anna's wide eyes. Lily felt dizzy, just as she was after the first vision she had had, and was dimly aware of Anna's hand on her arm, holding her up, and yelling for help.
Then she felt James' arm enclose her, and in one fluid motion she was in his arms, being carried somewhere. She was carefully placed on a couch, with James holding her hand tightly. Dimly she noticed James telling Frank where to find a quill and parchment, and then she was being hauled upright, propped by pillows, and James looked at her earnestly. "Lily, tell me what you saw – I know you don't have much energy, but tell me, please…"
Lily swallowed and summoned her last bits of energy. "Old classroom…boy and man…"
"Yes? Is that all? You just saw a boy and a man?"
Lily looked up at Anna, who was looking at her with something remarkably like horror. Her eyes brought back some details –
"The man…handing a book to the boy…the boy was smiling…" Oh, but Lily was fading fast…
"Yes? Anything else?"
"N-no…"
~*~*~*~*
Lily's eyes popped open. She was in her dark room, in her bed, next to James. It took a moment for her to remember her vision, and then it came back full force. She sat bolt upright, awake and horrified with herself. She frantically shook James' shoulder, and he sat straight up with a slight cry. Lily was a bit astonished at how quickly his wand was in his hand – but she didn't comment.
"What's it? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong – James, did I really fall asleep in front of – of all those people?" Lily asked, tears coming to her eyes for some reason. "Did I? What happened?"
James' breathing became regulated, and he leaned back against the pillows. "Yes, you did," he said hesitantly, peering up at her.
She loved him with his glasses, but there was something different about him without his glasses…something new, something mysterious…it never failed to give her the shivers. But at that moment, she wasn't concentrating on his appearance.
"I did? Oh, James!" She felt a tear trickle out of her eye, and James, though it was pitch dark, could tell. He pulled her down beside him and stroked her hair.
"Darling, darling, don't cry," he said soothingly. "What's so terrible about that?"
She pulled away, sat up and looked at him. "Because it's embarrassing, James! In front of people I didn't know! I really like Anna and Frank, and they both probably think I'm some mad mental case who faints all the bloody time-"
"Lily, they don't feel that way," James said firmly, cutting her off. "They were concerned, naturally, and I explained your – er – situation to them-"
"Situation!" Lily cried loudly, a noise of offense escaping her throat.
"No, no, not situation…I told them merely that this had happened before, and that you don't normally do it-"
"Umph," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the headboard. "So what happened after I went to sleep?"
"Well, I took you back into our bedroom and put you in your nightgown, and tucked you into bed."
"Why didn't you Ennervate me?"
"Because I figured you needed rest."
"Hmm. Well, what next?"
"And then we had drinks – it was rather awkward, to be honest."
"Honesty is a good thing to have between spouses."
"Lily…"
"No, James, it is! I want you to tell me exactly how it was awkward!"
"Fine, you want the truth?" James was angry. "The whole truth?"
No, she didn't.
"Yes, if you please, Mr. Potter!"
"Because normal wives don't have visions and faint like that!" James exploded, sitting up to look down at her. To not feel so inferior, she sat up and stared him boldly in the eyes. "Right, are you okay now that I've said it?!"
"Fine, thank you," she said coldly, laying back down and twisting around so she was facing the satin patterned hangings.
James made a noise of frustration and thumped back down onto his pillows.
Once Lily had cooled down, she immediately became ashamed. How stupid of her to have gotten all upset about something as trivial – well, sort of – as that? How very immature! It was about thirty minutes later, however, that her pride mostly evaporated and she turned around to face her husband's back.
"Jamie?" she whispered into the darkness.
Her heart soared when he turned around – Lily knew he loved it when she called him Jamie. He moved an inch towards her.
"Yeah?"
She held his wrist. "I love you, and I'm sorry." She felt him smile, and relief swelled up in her. "It was stupid of me to pick such a fight with you."
"I understand, love, I understand. And it wasn't all that awkward – Anna and Frank were quite understanding about it all – don't be surprised if they come by tomorrow."
Lily smiled, and James continued. "When I married you, I knew fully that you weren't a normal wife, and I was fully prepared to accept that, you know."
Lily sighed. "I know." She stopped, and they were silent for a minute. "Did you talk to them about the ball?"
"Yes – they've never been – but it doesn't matter, does it? Sirius'd kill us if we refused it."
"True." She snuggled up close to him. "I think it will be fun." She smiled as she felt a chuckle reverberate through his chest.
"So do I. I love you."
~*~*~*~*
The next day dawned cold, gray and rainy, and all Lily wanted to do was curl up in front of the fire and read with James. She did get to do so, just without her husband. James was paying a call to Dumbledore, telling him about Lily's vision. Lily hadn't wanted him to go, since there had been a dementor attack on Hogsmeade two days prior, but he was adamant.
She shivered and poked up the fire a bit more. She couldn't concentrate on her book very well, and was about to Floo over to the Wellington Mansion to see how Gwen was doing with moving in, when a knock sounded at her door.
Lily froze, her heart thumping in her chest. Who would call in the middle of the rain like this, on a Sunday afternoon?
She got up slowly, whispered a spell to herself, which effectively made her able to see who was standing at the door – Anna Summers. She smiled at her imagination and opened the door.
"Anna!"
"Hi, Lily," Anna said, smiling. "I've brought you some get-well candies from Frank and I." She presented Lily with a neatly tied box of chocolates.
"Thank you very much," Lily said graciously. "Come in, won't you?"
Anna nodded and entered, and Lily shut the door behind her. She took Anna's wet cloak and hung it up in the hall closet, and the two stood around for a moment.
"I'm terribly sorry about last night," Lily said first. "It's only the second time something like that's happened-"
"Was it me? Did you see something about me?" Anna cried, breaking in. "I did something, didn't I?"
Lily looked at her with alarm. "No, no. I promise, I didn't see you at all. What I told you all last night was all that happened."
Anna exhaled. "Good. Thank you."
There was a silence.
"Did you decide to go to the ball?" Lily said quietly.
Anna's eyes lit. "Yes, we did. It will be much fun, don't you think?"
Lily smiled at her. "I suppose. I don't know what I'll wear, though."
Anna grinned. "D'you want to shop with me for robes? I could help you find something and you could help me!"
"I'd love that," Lily said truthfully. There was silence again.
"Shall you continue your story?" Anna said finally.
"What story?"
"Of how you and James got together?"
Lily laughed. "Sure. Well, it all started the summer before first year…"
~*~*~*~*
"Gwen! Come over, won't you?"
Gwen looked at her with her eyebrows raised over a book of patterns. "What's got you in a tizzy?"
"Anna's over – you know, Anna Summers, Frank's fiancée – we're going shopping for dress robes for the ball."
"Wonderful! I thought I was going to have to go all by myself or something."
"C'mon. It's our Christmas presents to ourselves."
"Sounds lovely. I'll be over in a moment, but I'm warning you, we'd better stop at Gringott's."
Lily laughed. "I know, I know. Come on!"
The three women were finally assembled, and Apparated to Diagon Alley. It was full of witches and wizards doing their Christmas shopping. After a trip to the wizards' bank, they headed into a posh robe store next to a restaurant. The store was called "MeeMee's: A Division of Madame Malkin's To Serve Those Who Need Fancy Things". They headed inside.
Immediately a sweet, almost overpowering scent hit them. A large woman stood in front of them, her face so covered in makeup Lily wondered how her fat neck was holding it up. Her fingers, clasped in front of her, were covered with large jewels. She smiled largely at them and cried in a loud, high pitched voice that oozed sugar, "Lovely, look at these pretty young ladies! I bet you've all come to find robes for the big ball coming up, haven't you?"
"Yes, we have," Anna said politely. Gwen worked hard to contain her disgust, while Lily was just as occupied trying to contain her smile.
"I'm Mademoiselle MeeMee, the owner of this store!" she did a double take as her beady eyes roved over Lily. "Well, bless my soul! If it isn't the pretty little thing who snagged James Potter!"
Lily's eyebrows shot up.
"Many a woman was jealous of you, you know," the unpleasant woman said, winking at her.
Lily forced a smile as Gwen snorted. Anna's dark blue eyes were wide.
"Yes, I'll fix all three of you right up!" the woman continued, and snapped her fingers. Three attendants appeared, and Mademoiselle MeeMee steered the women over to the dressing rooms.
"We have a lovely way of deciding what color would fit you the best. You go ahead and pick a dress room girlies – one to each – and get undressed. You'll get fifty percent off if you do not like the first dress robes we give you! But first, let my attendants measure you."
The women, with glances at each other, allowed themselves to be measured as Mademoiselle MeeMee walked around, surveying. When the silent attendants were finished, Mademoiselle MeeMee clapped her hands. "Into the dressing rooms, now, dears! Hop to!" She disappeared into a back room.
"Insane, she is," Gwen muttered forcefully, taking the dressing room in the middle. "I bet she's never made a robe in her life…" she continued muttering about colors as she entered the room and slammed the curtain behind her. Lily and Anna exchanged amused looks and took the ones on either side, with Lily on the far left.
Lily smelled rather than heard when Mademoiselle MeeMee entered the room. A fabric was thrown over the door to her, and she caught it: a set of dress robes in a perfect bottle green. Lily went to the mirror and held it up to her face – it matched her eyes beautifully.
The robes went on perfectly and Lily felt wonderful in them. She left the dressing room in them at about the same time as Gwen who looked pleased, albeit grudgingly.
Her robes were deep satin red that set off her black hair wonderfully. Anna came out in dark blue the same color as her eyes, and Gwen had nothing negative to say about either robes. She instead looked at Mademoiselle MeeMee with a new respect.
The three ended up paying full price and left, full of content.
~*~*~*~*
Remus Lupin inhaled the cold evening air deeply. It felt like a sharp knife had been plunged into his neck, but he didn't care. Nothing physical ever bothered him anymore, not even his monthly transformations.
Right now they were all at a party – all of his "friends" that hardly ever talked to him.
The invitation had been sent to Remus, and he had immediately declined politely. Going to balls was for happy people, and Remus was definitely not happy. Then again, part of his heart was dead, so why should he be happy?
The only people that really talked to him anymore were his parents, who were terribly worried over him. They suspected him, as did all his friends, even though none would ever admit it.
Remus smiled ironically to himself, running a hand through his light hair. They should know better. James and Sirius were supposed to be brilliant; why did they think Remus would ever join Voldemort? Voldemort killed Mary Katherine – however indirectly – and for that, Remus would hate him with a passion deeper than words.
Remus sat down on a rock on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. He had taken walks in the cold since he could remember – it was soothing, calming. This particular rock he liked to call his Pondering Rock, for it always seemed to help him think.
Right now he began thinking more about his friends. Sirius used to come and visit him often, but his visits had become less and less frequent. Remus believed Sirius, whom he had always counted as his best friend, had stopped coming altogether.
What of Lily and James? They were still blissfully happy, as far as he could tell.
A bitter smile adorned his lips. How unfair was it, that James got to keep his soul mate while Remus had watched his die? James didn't know just how lucky he was. He never would, unless Lily died.
But then, James would surely kill himself.
Remus had tried. He had almost done it, but by a stroke of luck (or was it?) he had heard his mother summoning him from the fireplace below. Remus had put his wand down, shaking hard, and walked out of his bedroom.
He wasn't much better now, but hadn't made any more attempts on his life, even though he had nothing more to live for.
~*~*~*~*
Lily swayed slightly, and in that moment, she knew she needed to lie down. She quickly found James talking with someone – from work, probably – and he did a double take at her face.
"Excuse me, Caldwell," he said quickly to the man talking to him, and turned his full attention to Lily. "Darling, what's wrong? You look like you're going to faint!"
She shook her head. "I'm going to go home, I don't feel well."
"I'm coming with you, then," he said immediately.
"Oh – James, you stay, dear, it's early still. I'm just going to Apparate back."
"No, I don't think so, you're not Apparating anywhere looking like that," James said firmly, taking her hand and looking around. "Sirius!"
Sirius, who was talking to a rather large witch that kept looking at him as if he were a big steak, came right over.
"Bloody hell, did you see her?" he gasped, looking over his shoulder. "Gwen brought her over, thinks it's hilar-Lily, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing, I'm just feeling a little sick-"
"Christ, she looks like she going to pass out!" he interrupted, staring at her.
"Sirius, I can't believe you just left Miss Gold there…Good God, Lily, what's wrong?" Gwen had just run up, and was now peering at Lily with slight shock. "You didn't have another premonition, did you?" she whispered, leaning forward.
"No, no," Lily said, shutting her eyes briefly. "I just need to go to bed, I think. Sirius, it was great – tell everyone I had a wonderful time, but am just feeling a little unwell."
He looked at her with concern and went forward to hug her. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine, Sirius, really," she insisted as she hugged Gwen too. Gwen smoothed her hair and smiled. "I'll come visit in the morning, okay?"
"Okay," Lily nodded, and James wrapped an arm around her waist. "See you tomorrow, then," and before Lily could think, he had Apparated away with her.
They appeared in front of the house, and James half carried her in, looking concerned. "Are you sure you're fine?"
"Mmm," she said, her eyes drooping. "I can't..." She was fading quickly, and was dimly aware of James carrying her to bed, removing her shoes, jewelry, robes, and changing her into a nightgown. He kissed her, and she knew nothing more.
~*~*~*~*
Beep! Beep! Beeeeeeeep!
"Holy shit," James mumbled in the dark, and Lily groaned and cracked open an eye. Sure enough, on his bedside table, James' Summoner was flashing and whirring. He lit a candle and squinted at the clock – it read, "Go to work!"
James began muttering obscenities under his breath as he got up and dressed. Lily watched through half-open eyelids, and was drifting quickly to sleep again when the bed shifted and James pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I love you – I'll be back soon."
Lily said something unrecognizable back, and seconds later, she was fast a-slumber, thinking about the ball that was surely not over yet.
~*~*~*~*
So comfortable. This really was a great bed, Lily reflected as she came to the next morning. She yawned contentedly and rolled over. That was strange – it was almost seven in the morning…Lily never woke up that early on her own accord…
She sat up, suddenly more awake. Something was not right.
Unconsciously she grabbed her wand from the bedside table, where James must have put it. The silence pressed into her ears, and her heart began to beat painfully hard against her chest.
"James," she said aloud, "I need James."
Suddenly the house seemed much too big…Lily dressed quickly, her heart pounding still harder, and she bolted out of her room to the kitchen. The Daily Prophet wasn't there…It was always there by at seven…
She ran into the living room and grabbed a pinch of powder, lighting the fire effortlessly and tossing the powder in.
"The Watson's!" she cried, shoving her head in. She was instantly transported there, and yelled aloud for a few minutes…No one was there…
She slowly pulled her head out. She was overreacting, definitely. They were just sleeping! And James was just on the normal Auror business…
Then why did she feel such apprehension? Who could she find to talk to about this?
Anna would be there. She got another pinch of powder without a second thought and tossed it in, transporting herself to Anna's comfortable flat. To her relief, Anna was seated comfortably on her couch, reading, and started when Lily's head appeared.
"Thank God," Lily gasped. "I'm sorry to bother you so early, but do you know what Frank and James are doing? I feel strange for some reason."
Anna looked perplexed. "I don't know what they're doing…" she said slowly. A wrinkle creased her brow. "I just couldn't sleep. You don't think there's something wrong, do you?"
"I couldn't sleep either…I don't know, I just feel strange…"
"Did you have another premonition?"
"No," Lily said firmly, shaking her head. "I'm probably just overreacting."
Anna got up and leaned over the fireplace. "Why don't you come over, and we can have a little natter about last night to get our minds off this. I'll fix some tea."
Lily nodded. "That sounds wonderful, thanks. I'll be right over."
She pulled her head up, reached up onto the mantle and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, threw it in, and was gone in seconds.
She appeared in Anna's fireplace and reached out her hands to steady herself. She dusted off herself and looked around. "Anna?"
Anna's round face poked out from the kitchen doorway. "Lily, come in!" she called, and disappeared again.
Lily walked slowly through her flat, looking at the pictures – all seemed to be of Frank and Anna…Lily wondered about Anna's family. Had she lost her parents too?
She walked into the small kitchen where Anna was bustling around, making tea and whatever else. She gestured to a stool. "Sit, won't you?"
Lily said nothing but obeyed, and was soon presented with a cup of tea. Anna sat down opposite her, and the two sipped their drinks in silence before Anna broke it.
"So, did you have a good time last night?"
"Oh, yes. Our robes looked fantastic!"
"You seemed like you had a good time talking to Gwen?"
"I did. She and Sirius Black are an item, aren't they?"
Lily smiled in spite of her worries. "Yes…They are. Do you remember them from Hogwarts?"
"I was a Hufflepuff, but I swear I could hear their rows through the walls."
"They were spectacular, weren't they?" Lily smiled, but then turned it into a frown. "You were a Hufflepuff?"
Anna didn't have a chance to answer because an urgent, slightly panicked male voice interrupted her. "Anna! Anna!"
Lily's breath caught. She followed Anna at a run out of the kitchen and to the living room, where a man's head that Lily didn't recognize was sitting amidst the flames.
"Anna, thank God, I though you weren't in-" he shifted his gaze and saw Lily, and his eyes grew to saucer size. "Holy mother," he gasped. "Lily Potter! Wonderful, Mrs. Potter – you both have got to get down here now!"
"What?!" Anna cried, wringing her hands. "Bill, what are you talking about?"
"I'm at Sirius Black's house – horrible stuff is happening – I was sent to call you-"
"GET OUT OF MY FIREPLACE AND MOVE ASIDE!" Anna yelled, running to the mantle and grabbing an unnecessary amount of Floo. "Follow me!" she cried over her shoulder at Lily, and disappeared.
Lily paused for a moment, her thoughts racing. What was this? Was something bad happening again to the people she loved?
She snapped out of her thoughts, flung powder into the fire, and stepped inside. "The Black's house!"
She stepped out of the fireplace to pandemonium, and in the middle of it all was Gwen, standing motionless. Men and women were running around still in their ball clothes, some sobbing hard. To her immense horror, bodies were strewn everywhere…She heard shouts and spells being fired outside. A blast of red light burst through one of the windows, shattering it, and everyone screamed and ducked.
She leaped away from the hearth and went to Gwen, almost stepping on a body, scanning the room for anyone she knew. When she got to her best friend, she shook her hard. "Gwen!" she yelled, trying to be heard over the screams. Another spell shot through the window, this time straight at Lily and Gwen. Lily waved her hand and stopped it in mid air, then turned back to Gwen. "What's wrong! Gwen, talk to me!"
A strange sound bubble up from her lips, and wordlessly she waved to the couch in front of her. Lily looked, and her stomach contracted.
The Minister was lying on it, motionless. As she watched, a band of mediwizards appeared and conjured a stretcher quickly. Before Lily could register what happened, the two holding the stretcher Disapparated while the others conjured more stretchers, their faces set.
"DUCK!" someone yelled, and Lily pulled Gwen to the floor behind the couch as another jet of light came through a window. "Gwen…oh, Gwen…"
Gwen turned her face to Lily, and her eyes held such anguish Lily had never seen. "Dead…They're dead, Lily."
Tears welled up in Lily's eyes. "Who else? Who?"
"Mum," Gwen whispered, and she crumpled into Lily's arms, sobbing. Lily held her for a few moments, crying along with her. Why? Why did this have to happen? What was…what was the point?
"You there!"
Lily's head jerked up. A dirty man pointed his wand at them, and for a second,
Lily thought he would fire at them, but he merely gestured with his wand. "Get
up and help, won't you!"
Lily slowly turned back to Gwen. "Gwen, I've got to go help…They need me."
Gwen sat up. "I'll come," she said, her voice determined. Where anguish had been before in her crystal blue eyes, now it had given over to anger, to a burning hatred…
She sprang up and drew her wand. Without a word, she left the security of the couch and ran swiftly out of the living room.
Lily struggled to get her breath before dashing out after her best friend. She wound through the house she had once lived in, the hallways becoming more familiar. She burst out a side door and surveyed the yard. The beautiful decorations were still up, as if mocking the people of the party they had been enjoying a few hours ago. Around them Aurors in dress robes and many other people were fighting the hooded, black-robed Death Eaters with a vengeance, but there were simply too many of them. Bodies were strewn all over the grass, with people carelessly stepping on them, not caring…
Lily scanned the yard for people she knew – she saw Anna, blind fury adorning her pretty, plump features as she fought next to Frank. She watched Gwen kill a Death Eater recklessly, and saw Sirius, on her left, Stun another…
James. Where was he?
Lily's pulse quickened. Surely...Surely he wasn't…
Unwillingly her eyes searched the bodies on the ground. No-
A voice cried something, and out of the corner of her eye Lily saw a person in black shoot a spell right at her. Another was shot towards it, knocking the curse out of her direction.
"Stupefy!" someone cried, and the person in black crumpled. The voice was familiar. She turned, and her heart swelled.
"Thank God," she cried, running towards her husband. "James," she breathed.
He wiped dirt out of his eyes. "Lily! What in God's name were you doing?!" he yelled. "You could have been killed just standing there like an idiot! You're not invincible, you know!"
Lily drew back, hurt. "I was just looking for-"
He shot a blocking spell over her head. "Get moving!" he yelled, pushing her behind him. Lily stumbled from the force of his push onto the ground, but watched, as if in slow motion, a Death Eater from the side shoot a spell at him. Before he could block it, it hit him, and he fell next to Lily. She stood up, burning with anger, and let out a terrible cry of fury. She shot the most powerful Stunning Spell she had ever mustered at that Death Eater. It hit him full on; she was positive she had killed him.
No one escaped her then. She stood right next to James the entire rest of the battle, firing at any Death Eater she saw, and turned the tide. Soon, the Dark wizards realized they were extremely outnumbered and Disapparated.
A universal sigh of relief went through the good fighters, and Lily whirled around, throwing herself next to James. He was breathing, thankfully, just Stunned.
"Lily!"
Sirius was coming over with Gwen limply lying in his arms. Lily's blood froze, and, seeing the alarm on her face, Sirius shook his head grimly as he put her down gently. "She just fainted, don't worry." His eyes rested on James, and his jaw dropped. The blood rushed from his face, and now it was Lily's turn to shake her head.
"He's been Stunned."
Sirius put his hands on his face and moaned. "Thank God."
Anna and Frank joined them, paralyzed with worry. "They're okay," Lily said, putting a hand to her heart. "Gwen fainted and James was Stunned."
"I don't blame her," Sirius said, his eyes filled with grief. Lily burst into tears when the realization that Minister Watson and Elizabeth were dead fully hit her, and Sirius pulled her into a tight hug.
~*~*~*~*
Christmas was subdued, and spent just with Sirius, Remus, Peter, Gwen, James, Lily, Ella, and Celeste. The total that had been killed from the light side amounted to seventeen, including Remus's mother.
James apologized for yelling at her, and said it was due to the fact that he was worried and had been fighting for hours, being thankful the entire time Lily was safe at home. She had forgiven him immediately.
After Christmas, Ella moved out, and within the same week Sirius, Gwen, and Celeste were in the Wellington House. Along with the funerals of Mrs. Lupin, Minister Watson and Elizabeth Watson, Lily was forced to bury one of the last remnants of her childhood – good old Cookie, who had been living with Ella at the Wellington house. Lily felt as though part of her had died, and the little girl Lily was fading away quickly.
Then, of course, she had to go back into work. The Ministry was in an uproar, with some calling for Albus Dumbledore to be made Minister, some for Barty Crouch, and a fair few even wanted Lily to be Minster, but they had to go with custom, and the Assistant Minister of Magic took over.
Lily was swamped with work. Attacks were happening regularly, and people were beginning to be too scared to walk outside. You didn't talk to anyone you didn't know, no matter how nice they seemed.
Anna and Frank were married in a very small ceremony, Anna in simple white dress robes and Frank in black dress robes. Sirius, Gwen, Lily, James, and Frank's parents were all that were present. A few weeks later, Anna found she was pregnant, due in December.
Lily's life was gray and lifeless, with the months slipping past as if in a dream, and she had only James, Sirius, Gwen, Anna, and Frank to color it up a bit.
That all changed about two weeks after Halloween when Lily jumped out of bed on a Friday morning and threw up in the bathroom.
James was away doing paperwork at the Ministry, and Lily called for Gwen through her fireplace. Gwen Flooed over and gasped when she saw Lily's face.
"Lils! What's wrong?"
"I just threw up."
"Well, are you okay? Do you want some medicine?"
"I think something's wrong with me."
"Anna – I'll get Anna! She's a nurse!" Gwen exclaimed.
"But she's working at St. Mungo's now, isn't she?"
"Yes, but this is an emergency," Gwen said dismissively, and Flooed to the hospital.
When they arrived about half an hour later, Lily was sitting in front of the toilet after just being sick.
A seven month pregnant Anna rushed in the bathroom and stood her up. Her blue eyes became wide.
"Come on, you need to see a doctor."
"Is something wrong? I think I might just have a stomach bug or something-"
"You might," Anna said, and pulled her out of the bathroom and towards the door. "Gwen, grab her coat."
"But I'm still in my pajamas!" Lily protested. Her head spun, and bile rose up in her mouth.
Gwen threw Lily's coat on her and opened the door so the three could get outside. Once they were in the driveway Anna put her arm around Lily's waist and Gwen copied her on the other side, and they Disapparated with her.
They arrived in the lobby of St. Mungo's. Lily sat down as Anna arranged for her to see a doctor. She was finally led through a door and down a hall, and put into a room with Gwen standing next to her, holding her hand.
A nice looking woman entered. "Good morning, Mrs. Potter! I'm Dr. Gooden, and I hear there might be something wrong with you?" she smiled.
"I hope not," Lily said, putting a hand to her stomach.
"Why don't you tell me about your symptoms, dear."
"I got up this morning, feeling sick, and threw up twice. Anna thought I should come in."
"Well, look here – I think I know what's wrong with you, dear, and there's nothing wrong."
"You know?" Lily said nervously. "Shouldn't you run a test?"
"I have been while watching you, but I'll be a little more extensive." She drew her wand and instructed Lily to lie on her back on the small cot. She whispered a spell, and put the tip of her wand on Lily's stomach. The doctor moved it around and a smile came to her lips.
"Mrs. Potter-"
"Lily," Lily interrupted weakly.
"Lily, then. My dear, you are going to have a baby."
Lily's jaw dropped and Gwen began hyperventilating.
"Yes, Lily, you're going to be a mother!" Dr. Gooden exclaimed, smiling widely.
"A mother," Lily whispered to herself. She put her hands on her stomach. "A baby," she whispered again, and then the world went black.
~*~*~*~*
Her eyes opened to see a very white ceiling. She was lying in starched white sheets, and someone was next to her – Gwen, flipping through an old issue of Witch Weekly.
Gwen saw her stir and she leaped up. "She's awake, Anna!" she yelled over her shoulder, and then turned to look at Lily anxiously.
"What happened?" Lily asked drowsily.
"You fainted after Dr. Gooden told you you're pregnant. You've been out for almost twenty minutes – James is on his way."
Lily sat bolt upright just as Anna entered. "No, lay back down!" Anna cried, and Gwen forced her back onto her pillows. "You don't want to strain yourself."
"I'm going to be a mother," Lily said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Does James know?"
"Know what?" James cried, coming in and panting heavily. "I came as fast as I could – Lily, are you alright?"
Lily smiled widely. "No – no, we're alright."
"We?" he asked, striding towards her, looking confused. Anna and Gwen crept out and shut the door. "What do you mean?"
"James," Lily said, taking his hand, "We're going to have a baby."
The blood drained from his face and he sat down heavily on the side of her bed. "We're what?"
"I'm pregnant, Jamie. We're going to be parents."
He gasped for air. "Parents?"
"Yes," Lily nodded, smiling gently. She pulled the covers down off her and put his hand gently on her still-flat stomach. "Our baby is right there."
He looked down at her stomach and slowly moved his hand around while Lily watched. "Are we ready, you think?" James asked in wonderment.
"I think we are."
He nodded and looked up at her. "We are." He leaned forward and kissed her gently. "We definitely are."
~*~*~*~*
Finished
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Bella
