A/N: Okay, people, you know the drill. Author apologises for late chapter, you decide to forgive her, and then you review. You also forgive her for updating the wrong chapter… that was a mistake, Lina. Thanks to Caryn for pointing that out, and I'm so terribly sorry! One difference this time: I want to know if you want longer chapters and more time between updates, or shorter chapters (this length) and less time between updates. Longer chapters and less time between updates is not an answer. So, please leave a review telling me what you thought of the chapter and of the Big question.
When Lily port-keyed to the training camp again, Frank handed her yet another schedule.
"Hello again! You'll have the same classes as before, and some new classes have been added. Go to the showers first, of course, and be careful- there are some nasty new spells! You'll be coming in twice a week, just like when you were training to become an Auror! Your new classes are TA, which is Transportation and Apparating. That's basically your old trans class, and they teach you how to Apparate. Same teacher, place, and everything. PMS, which stands for Politics and Magical Subterfuge. I don't think admin realised it also stands for post- actually, you don't need to know that yet. Anyways, you learn politics, which is basically how to tell someone they're under arrest without sounding rude, and how to get into people's good graces, which comes in handy on spying missions. Magical Subterfuge is all about disguise. Well, you'd better hustle up- you're nearly going to be late! Oh, and I'm supposed to tell you that you're coming in on Mondays and Wednesdays!"
Lily ran to the showers, and quickly got ready for training. Once again, there was a little space where no spells could reach, and Lily was able to avoid every spell, including one that looked like it might turn an unsuspecting witch or wizard into a fly. Lily then pulled out her schedule, which read:
24:10: 24:50- TA
1:00- 1:45- PMS
1:55- 2:40- AM
2:50-3:35- HTH
3:45- 4:30- MA
4:40- 5:50- WSF
Training Days: Mondays and Wednesdays
Patrol Days: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 23:00-5:00
Patrol Assignment: Adiutor, Unit Five, Quadrant three, Auror Seven (A537)
Lily-I'd like you to keep your name as Zia, just in case. The jumper ceremony was closed, and everyone there was trusted explicitly. We can't trust everyone, however, and there may be spies here. Good luck,
Mr. Beechman
Okay, so I'd better head over to the clearing and Mistress Eques. Maybe I'll get there early enough to see Dancer! Lily hadn't seen Wind Dancer since she had become an Adiutor.
"Zia! Welcome, and how are you? We're so glad to have you back!" exclaimed Mistress Eques.
"I'm feeling good, and it's great to be back! I can't wait to see Dancer, and to learn how to Apparate!" Lily said.
"That's good! It's great to see such enthusiasm. Well, the rest of the class is arriving, so let's start, shall we?
This is TA, people! I will teach you how to use ANY means of transportation, including Apparating! This is no joke! Neither is it the time to fool around! If you are splinched in this class, I will not be sending for Ministry officials! Your classmates will put you back together, and if it hurts, TOO BAD! Now, these are the basics of Apparation: 1) ALWAYS hold your destination point in your mind! And be sure to visualise it correctly!"
"Excuse me, but why do we have to picture it? Can't we just go?" asked a short boy, with long brown hair.
"Well, you can just go, Mr. Drugo, if you want to end up in a completely different destination. That's if you're lucky. You might get splinched, or be sent to another planet, where magic doesn't exist! Then you might be stuck on that planet forever. If you want that, by all means, just go. If not, you MUST visualize! Do I make my meaning clear?"
The whole class nodded.
"Good. Now, the second point is…" The rest of the class was spent taking notes on the basics of Apparation.
After TA was over, the class was pointed in the direction of their next class- in Lily's case, PMS. The classroom was very plain; the only furniture in the room were desks for the students, and the walls were white. The teacher was already there, standing menacingly by a board covered with scribbles and notes. When he saw her, his cold blue eyes glittered in a disturbing manner.
"Erm, Hello, master. I'm, er, here for the, erm, class, yes, that's right," Lily said, quaking as he glowered darkly at her. His tall, lean form leaned in towards her.
"Here for class, are you? Well, speak up, child! Name!" he barked. Lily couldn't help noticing a mark on his arm, a bit like a Muggle tattoo. It was a skull, with a snake through the mouth. Why does that look so familiar? she asked herself as she replied with, "Zia. Zia Rhannon, sir." He grunted as the rest of the class came in.
"Take a seat! Now!" he bellowed. The class hurried into seats, looking at each other apprehensively.
One man that looked to be about twenty whispered to a friend, "Well, we can't have expected them all to be nice. Pity, though."
"Now, this is Politics and Magical Subterfuge! You will not call it PMS in my hearing! My name is Master Civilitas, which is what you will call me at all times! In this class, we learn how political systems work in all countries, how to fit into any situation, and how to be an effective field agent during the more delicate assignments! You will learn how to disguise yourselves, and how to withstand torture, among other things." Master Civilitas pulled out his wand and muttered an incantation. His body immediately altered, leaving him a rather plain man with thinning brown hair and a potbelly. "As you can see, with the art of disguise and a little acting, you can completely alter your personality. The identity I just took on was that of a high-ranking Death-Eater. We'll learn more about them later. For now, you may call this class PMS, and it should be a lot of fun," he said, in a much nicer voice. "Now, tonight I'll be teaching you about withstanding torture, as some of you have a patrol tomorrow night. Remember, this is a high-risk job, and you could be captured or killed at any time. These are the basic rules for withstanding torture…"
When PMS was over, Lily knew more about torture than she thought she ever wanted to know. With a sigh of relief, she headed for her favourite class, Archery and Miscellaneous. Master Sagitto was there already, and he smiled when he saw her.
"Hello, Master!" Lily greeted him cheerily.
"Hello, Zia. I was wondering when I'd see you again!" he replied. "Ah, here's the rest of the class. Good day, or perhaps I should say good evening? In any event, you all know me, and you think you know my class. You are wrong. Whereas last time around in my class, we worked a little on politics, disguise, and other things, you now have a class for that- PMS. Now the miscellaneous will fall under the category of the best ways to defeat a dragon, how to fight off a Dementor, and mainly, how to patrol effectively. We will practice Archery twenty minutes a class, and the rest will be devoted to other things. I will tolerate no nonsense; what I'm teaching you may well save your lives someday, as well as the lives of others. Listen well, and learn all you can. Now, everyone grab his or her bows and arrows. Start practising, and I'll come around and help."
The next fifteen minutes was spent shooting. Lily's aim was off; she was shaken by the new course their classes seemed to be taking. It was a lot more serious, and she was beginning to realise that being an Auror was no picnic.
"Class!!! Gather over here! As you might have seen, there are seven of you in every class, and it's the same seven. That's no mistake. You are all in the same patrol group, which is A53, correct? Good! I'm supposed to be telling you the pecking order! Well, here it is! Your quad head is Mr. Sigbert Witty! Your unit head is Oswyn Prowd! The Adiutor head is Horace Bones! Daniel McKinnon currently fills the post of Imperator! You are under all of these wonderfully capable and proficient people, and you will follow their orders at all times. Do you have any questions?"
One young man, looking about twenty-two, timidly asked, "We have Auror numbers on our sheet. What do they mean?" He was a rather average man, with brown hair and unremarkable eyes of the same colour.
"Miles Ninion! What do you think they mean? How many Aurors are there in a quad?" asked another man, who looked to be about the same age. He shook his head, making his brown, shoulder-length hair fly. Though he looked to be ridiculing, his blue eyes twinkled, telling the world he was only kidding.
"Melchior Jankin!" said yet another man, who was obviously mocking the second. He was tall, thin, and had flaming red hair with freckles. The three were obviously good friends. "It was a good question, even if we already know that through logical reasoning!"
"Jankin, Ninion, Weasley! All of you stop. Ninion, the number indicates what Auror number you are in the group- each number has a different job, and the Auror in that position needs particular skills. Jankin, I agree with Weasley, and Weasley, stop disrupting the class. I will explain your numbers right now. Who is 1? Ninion? Yes, I always thought you had a good mind for logic. 1's decide if a mission is simply too dangerous to pull off. They also make other logical decisions for the group. 2? Bill Weasley, is it? Your job is to plan the strategies. You're probably quite good at chess, correct?" Bill Weasley nodded. "Denton Cuthbert, in the back with the blond mullet cut, is 3, I believe. Yes? He maintains your shields when you need them. Edwin Drugo is 4; he is the one who excels at escape routes. We've already tested and taught him quite a bit about group Apparating. He'll do all of that for you. 5 appears to be…" Master Sagitto conjured a piece of paper out of midair. "Ah, yes! Fulk Enoch. He guards the flanks, and rear. Enoch has an uncanny sense of where trouble is; he's never gotten hit once in the showers." This was a remarkable feat. Lily had an awful time staying away from curses in the showers, and she was a lot smaller than Fulk, who looked to be at least two heads taller than Lily. He was also very broad, and muscular. "Enoch also provides your group with physical strength. 6 is Jankin. Jankin is the dueller. While you make a getaway, he'll slow up the pursuers. And last, but not least, is Rhannon. She's standing right in front, though you at the back won't be able to see her. She's 7, and her job is to scout. Before you go into a potentially hazardous area, she's going to go scout it out for you, make sure it isn't a trap. She'll also help Ninion with rearguard. Got that? Good, because it's time for your next class. Cheers!"
Quadrant A53 hurried to their next class (HTH) as one unit, and the next class (MA.) On the way they talked and joked, getting to know each other quite well. Mel, Miles, and Bill were best friends. Miles was a little absentminded, and a little bit slower, but his logic was irrefutable. He was also one of the nicest people Lily had ever met. Mel was a bit more of a daredevil, but he was the fastest on his feet out of their quad. Bill was Bill. Extremely good at knowing what to do to win, and he had a beautiful disarming spell. He also had a penchant for saying "Bloody!" Denton was a character. He wasn't the brightest, but he had pure strength. He also had a sense of humour that would make even Malfoy laugh. Eddy was not the nicest person there. His shrewd, calculating mind and his cold, hard way of looking at things made him hard to warm up to. Fulk was quite quiet. He had a respect for all life that was strange to see in one so strong and good with curses.
By the time that WSF was over Lily was aching, (there had been a new test of stealth- all seven of them had to sneak across a field set with motion detectors and all sorts of traps,) but it was definitely worth it. She had made new friends, and she was well on her way to making a difference in the world.
~~~
Back at school, James, Sirius, and Peter were too busy to even notice that Lily was dividing her time between Ara, Michelle, and Lina. Remus, on the other hand, was desperately confuzzled as to why Lily was being borderline uncivil. He made several attempts at speaking with her, to no avail. Eventually he stopped trying, giving it up for some little quirk and resolving to try again another day.
Lily went to train behind Jingle before she went to patrol. She decided not to overwork; she wanted to be at her best for that night. So, after a few failed attempts at Expelliarmus without a wand, Lily stopped for the evening. At half-past ten Lily port-keyed to the camp area, nerves jingling in her stomach like an awful orchestra.
"Hello! First patrol tonight? Oh, don't be nervous! They won't send you anywhere dangerous. Get changed over there, and meet beneath the sign that says 'Outgoing Patrol," Frank said, pointing to the left.
"Thanks, Frank!" Lily replied. She had never even noticed the area where she was headed. It appeared to be the Headquarters of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
As Lily changed, she went through all of the previous night's lessons on patrolling in her mind. She only hoped she wouldn't forget everything the moment she got out onto the field. Fully dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror. Black trousers, black shirt, black jumper with the one dark blue stripe. Hair back, covered with a black, tight-fitting cap. All things considered, Lily thought she looked rather like a little witch girl playing Auror.
Changed and as ready as she'd ever be, Lily went out to wait beneath the sign that Frank had pointed out. Fulk was already there.
"Nervous, Zia?" he asked, smiling as she polished her wand with the bottom of her jumper.
"Just a little!" Lily replied. "You?"
"Same. I can't help but feel apprehensive…"
"Ah, don't worry buddy!" Denton joined the conversation. "I'm sure everyone is nervous. My dad said he was."
"What happened to your dad, his first time patrolling?" Miles asked, interestedly.
"Hm, well, he can't exactly remember. He walked into the gate going out, and woke up a few days later."
"Isn't that a great thing to hear right now!" Mel said, sarcastically.
"Really boosts our confidence, that does!" added Bill. Eddy walked out behind him.
"Okay, listen up A53!" Mr. Beechman said. "This is your first patrol, and I want you to go along the marshes. Master Sagitto has instructed you on what to do. Just look for anything unusual, and if you find anything, call it back to HQ on your comm. system. Then send Zia out to scout for you, and if she says it looks unusual, head in. Also, listen to your 1! If he says it's too dangerous, it probably is. Call back to HQ for backup. If it's not, then listen to 2 for strategy. Now, head out, and good luck!"
A53 headed out of camp on their first patrol. When they had gotten about halfway through the marshes, and it was about 2:00, they spotted an eerie green light glowing in the distance, and heard screams. When they got closer, they heard the sickening cracks of breaking bones, accompanied by more screams. Then-
