a n d t h e n t h e r e w a s o n e
Author's note…
Disclaimer… All recognizable characters, plotlines belong to JK Rowling. Drew, Myall, the Elia group, and the plotline belongs to me. Although, I have adapted many of the concepts from the WB show, Charmed, into this fanfic.
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A DISCOVERY
The next few days was incredibly painful for Lily. Remus and Sirius refrained from asking Lily any questions about that night, a gesture Lily suspected James was responsible for. Lily knew that Professor Dumbledore told them Lily is some form of a Seer, and ran to alert him about what she had 'foreseen'.
The girls, too, heard this version of the story, and adopted the same behavior as the boys. The only problem was, most of them were too afraid to speak to Lily not only about the incident, but about anything.
If it wasn't for the mutual understanding that James had for her since the incident, Lily would have felt more alone than ever. James understood her predicament, and was often found in her company by the lake, where they would talk for hours at end.
"So what are you going to do now?" James asked Lily. She had just told him about what her aunts parting words.
"I don't know." Lily said in a melancholic tone. "She wants me to do something. She sensed something that night. Its as if, as she was going to die, all the pieces began to fall to place, and she was trying to tell me everything."
"I need to find her." Lily continued. "This Amelia. This Christmas Holidays. My aunt wants me to, or at least she has a reason to do so."
James looked at her, startled.
"Lily, she is in Russia. Its not like she's in Surrey. You will be missing out on school….and…and you don't even know where she is. Or who she is. It will be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"But someone's got to know…" Lily said exasperatedly. "Someone who knew them, someone like…"
"Like?" James looked at Lily.
"Dumbledore. They went to school together. My aunt, uncle and Dumbledore. That means Dumbledore will know Amelia."
"Yeah, but that was like decades ago, Lily."
"Still…its worth a try." Lily said in a defiant voice. "I have to try."
* * * * * * * * *
"Sir, can I speak to you in private?"
It was just after breakfast, a week before the Christmas Ball, and Lily had approached the top table. Professor Dumbledore, who was speaking to Professor McGonagall, glanced up and smiled.
"Of course you can, Ms Evans. If you would excuse us Minerva…"
"Not at all, Albus." Professor McGonagall said, getting off her chair. " I have a class to attend to anyway." She gave Lily a sympathetic smile and walked towards the corridor. Albus turned his attention to Lily.
"Please sit down." Dumbledore said, gesturing to the chair that Professor McGonagall vacated. Lily obliged and took a seat.
"How are you doing, Lily?" Dumbledore asked in a concerned voice. Lily cleared her throat.
"Getting better everyday, sir."
"That's good to hear. Remember, you can talk to me about anything."
Then he sighed.
"Your aunt's death coupled with your uncle's was extremely bad timing both for the state of the magical world and your Elian progress."
"Why do you say that, sir?"
Dumbledore cleared his throat.
"Do you remember your uncle speaking about Tom Riddle?" Dumbledore said quietly to Lily. Lily nodded.
"Well, even though he retired as an unspeakable when he took care of you, he still performed some small duties while at home. Bartholomew, myself, along with a good friend of ours, Augustus Pepperlin, was looking into the rise of a wizard in the dark arts. This wizard was a muggle born. In fact, he used to come to Hogwarts. He was the death eater you encountered that night. Tom Marvolo Riddle. I myself had him as a student in Hogwarts some decades before, and notices a strong sense of anger and a yearning towards the dark arts."
"Since your uncle was taking care of you, and I had to run Hogwarts, Augustus went to Albania alone to confirm his suspicions about this wizard. Unfortunately Augustus met his downfall there. Bartholomew and I knew this was no ordinary wizard. We also knew that Bartholomew and myself would be in danger."
"But Professor, when those death eaters came to my house, they weren't going to kill my uncle, they wanted to kill me." Lily said, confused.
"I can only provide one explanation for that: Riddle must have found out from Augustus that you were an Elian. As you can see that night, Riddle's hatred for Elians was stronger than his need to kill your uncle. To him, it wasn't about protecting his uprising, it was settling a personal vendetta."
"You see, Lily," Dumbledore continued. "I can see what you are feeling. I was part of a great group of friends, Augustus, Bartholomew and myself. We did everything together when we were in Hogwarts, and for many many years after. I went into teaching, and Bartholomew and Augustus did their unspeakable certification. Not having them around now…it leaves an empty feeling in me…as if…I was the only one left."
"I know that feeling. Like as if the enemy was conducting a process of elimination until there was one."
"But you see, Lily, the trick is for you to look around you and find that something else that can help you along the way. I know your aunt and uncle isn't here, but you will have to seek other form of guidance and wisdom and support. They may not be your aunt and uncle, but they are special in their own way."
Lily nodded. This was a good time to bring it up.
"Sir, do you remember what my aunt said to me that night…as she was about to…"
Professor Dumbledore nodded gravely.
"Well, my aunt mentioned a Amelia…another Elian. She said, she, my aunt and Riddle's mother were best friends. I assume they were in Hogwarts together. And since you went to school with my aunt, do you remember this Amelia? Perhaps you could help me find her."
Professor Dumbledore sat there, thinking hard.
"My dear Lily… I only knew your aunt well because I was really good friends with your uncle. Bartholomew and myself were Gryffindors. Your aunt was from Ravenclaw. I don't remember much of her friends. I would recognize her if we crossed paths, but that's as far as my memory will stretch… unfortunately. I was a studious person at school. Never really took notice of girls. I am what your generation calls…a"
"A geek?" Lily suggested with a smile.
"Something along those lines, yes." Dumbledore chuckled. Then he noticed Lily's face falling.
"I see you want to make an acquaintance with her."
Lily looked up. "I know there is a reason why Aunt Bessie told me about her. I feel as though I need to see this Amelia."
Dumbledore nodded, thoughtfully.
"If this helps, I remember your aunt has a trunk of belongings that came with you stuff when you first came to Hogwarts. Perhaps you might find some answers you were looking for in there."
Lily's face automatically brightened.
"Sir, that is a brilliant idea." She said, almost tripping over her chair in her rush to get up. Dumbledore laughed.
"Lily, calm down. As much as I know you are anxious to find out more, I believe your priorities lie in your studies."
Lily slapped her hand on her forehead. She had completely forgotten about class. Dumbledore smiled. As Lily left the Great Hall, the professor caught up with her.
"Your aunt was an accomplished student. I'm sure she would be extremely disappointed if you weren't."
* * * * * * * * *
"Hogsmede weekend!" Sirius yelled as he entered to boys dorm. "Finally, my prank stock needs replenishing."
"Sirius," Remus said in a serious tone. "You know what the main purpose of us going for is, right? To get our…"
"Yes, Moony," Sirius said in a mock deflated voice. "Its to get our dress robes. Blah! I'll just use last years."
"You sure you want to do that?" James piped in. "After the reaction Myall gave when you refused to ask her, I suggest you dress a little better. You better give Zonko's a miss this time."
The loud grunt from Sirius made James and Remus laugh.
"It better be diamond encrusted too," Remus said jokingly.
"So, Padfoot," James said. "What did you write in your 'essay'?"
"Nothing exciting." Sirius muttered.
"Aww, come on. We've already handed it in, you know you are not going to win, so you might as well tell us." James said with a smug look.
"You'll see."
"How much did you write?" Remus said, eyeing his friend suspiciously.
"Enough." Sirius said in a subdued tone.
"Lets leave it, Remus." James said, smiling at his friends unusual expression. "If its that good, we'll hear it on the night. Come on, we have to meet the girls outside."
"Peter, you coming?" Remus said to the boy lying on his bed in the corner.
"No, I have my dress robes already, so I will give it a miss this time."
"Oh… alright." Remus said, starring at Peter. "We'll see you later, then."
"What's wrong with Peter?" James asked as they walked towards the front doors. The girls had gone to the library for some last minute work and was meeting them at the front doors.
"Dunno," Remus said, shrugging his shoulders. "After that incident that night, he seems depressed."
"Probably felt a little responsible, since we were sneaking out to see his mom." Sirius added.
"Yeah." James said, sighing. "Shouldn't be though, its not his fault."
"You try telling him that. Doesn't speak too much now, always mutters and gives one word answers."
They had reached the front doors and were only waiting for a while, when the girls arrived, along with Natalie.
The boys kissed their girlfriends, leaving Lily standing there looking around. James saw her there alone and walked towards her.
"Everything ok?" he said, leaning over and peering into her melancholic eyes, while making his brown eyes even bigger. Lily, who was taken by surprise since she was daydreaming, cracked up laughing.
"That's disgusting, James." She said. James grinned.
"Nice to see you laugh." James said. Then he turned serious.
"Everything ok?" James repeated. "How did it go with Dumbledore?"
"He doesn't remember her, but I'm going to go through some of our old stuff, maybe get some clues there."
"Does that mean you are not going to Hogsmede with us?" James asked in a deflated voice.
"Yeah…I need to find this. Its bugging me." Lily said. James nodded in understanding and patted her in her shoulder.
"Take care of yourself, Lily." James whispered softly into her ear. James smiled then walked towards his group of friends.
"Lily, aren't you coming?" Drew called out to her.
"No, I have some errands to run. You guys have a good time." Lily said.
Drew was going to ask more, but caught sight of James' face. She stopped.
"Alright, see you later." Drew said and waved at her. Lily waved back.
James turned too, and waved at Lily with a smile as they walked towards the front doors and out of Hogwarts.
* * * * * * * *
"I cant believe Uncle Barto and Aunt Bessie had so much stuff." Lily said in awe, when Clover took her into an abandoned room near the kitchens. It was filled with antique cupboards, trunks, old coat stands, even an old wooden horse Lily remembered playing with when she was young. As she ran her hands along the horses mangled mane, all those memories of what these possessions held brought a nostalgic tear to her eye.
"What is it that miss Lily is looking for?" Clover asked, tugging on Lily's robe anxiously. Lily woke up from her day dream.
"Miss Bessie's old trunk, Clover." Lily replied, scanning around the room. Even with Clover helping her, it was going to take awhile. They started in one corner, and worked their way around the room.
"Oh look Clover!" Lily shrieked when she spotted something. Clover ran over in a flash. Lily was holding up a ragged doll, who was wearing a wilted and fading pink dress.
"You sewed this for me as a gift when I first came to stay with your master, do you remember?" Lily said.
"Yes, yes. Clover remembers." The house elf exclaimed excitedly. "Miss Lily was a little girl, and she was crying, so Clover wanted to make miss Lily feel better."
Lily:
When I lived with my aunt, we had no house elf. My aunt did everything herself. So when my aunt was killed and then trapped in the book, I left to stay with uncle Barto.
I remember seeing Clover for the first time. She was really scared of me, yet she was so determined to make me feel at home. I think, as I grew older, I admired that sentiment, and to my surprise, I began to grow a sort of mutual respect for her, to the point where I never saw her as a house elf anymore. Just a good, and trustworthy friend.
"Clover, what kind of powers do house elves have?" Lily asked. They were seated on a trunk side by side, with Lily still clutching onto her doll. Clover looked at Lily with a shocked expression.
"We do not speak of it, Miss Lily. For having powers means not being enslaved."
Lily looked at Clover.
Lily:
I couldn't leave her like this. She's the only one I have. The only one.
Lily thought for a while what she was going to do, but she knew it was the right thing. Lily took the dress off the doll carefully, and gave it to Clover. Clover looked at it with a look of horror.
"M…m…miss Lily doesn't want me anymore?" Clover stammered, with tears coming down her face.
"No," Lily said in a gentle voice. "Miss Lily wants Clover more than ever. But being enslaved means you are defenseless against those who can harm you. And there is plenty out there right now."
Clover began to sob loudly.
"There are three people I hold close to my heart for the past few years." Lily continued. "Uncle Barto, Aunt Bessie, and you. I have already lost them, losing you is too much to bear. I am releasing you not as a master to a house elf, but as a friend to another who is chained and bonded by a principle that shouldn't even be in place."
"So…miss lily wants Clover to leave?" Clover said between deep sobs. Lily picked her up and placed her on her lap.
"Miss Lily wants Clover the house elf to leave. But she wants Clover her best friend to stay…forever." Lily said with a smile.
"I know you will remain loyal to me and my uncle, no matter what happens." Then Lily took the dress and stuffed it into the teary house elf's thin, bony hands. Immediately, the tea towel came off, but Lily pinned it back on with some glue she transfigured from the dripping ceiling. Clover got off, and bowed at Lily.
"Miss Lily is the greatest." Clover exclaimed. "Your compassion will be something your uncle will be proud of."
Suddenly, something on the ground caught her eye.
"Miss Lily," she shrieked. "The trunk you are sitting on, look!"
Lily got up and looked at the front. B.B.S
"Besselia Bailey Somerset." Lily muttered with excitement.
"Thanks Clover." She said, hugging the equally excited house elf.
"Alohamora!" Lily wand waved, and the trunk opened. Lily sat on the ground and began to take things out. It was full of little things, hair pins, quills, parchments, books, etc. Lily was taking an old mirror out, when she saw a photo album at the bottom of the trunk.
She picked it up and leafed through it. There was Bessie as a baby, then Bessie as a little girl. The really cool thing about the book was that, if you ran your fingers over the corner, an audio commentary would come up.
There were plenty of pictures. There was one of her at Platform nine and three quarters, with her brand new uniform ("It was too big for me, but mum insisted. Personally, I looked like a big balloon.") There was also a formal prefect portrait, where she was standing next to a pompous looking uncle Barto and Albus Dumbledore ("Barto was such a honey.") Lily laughed. It was the next picture that caught her attention.
It was in front of an old nunnery. Outside it, was a sign. "Palnikov Nunnery, Moscow." Bessie, and two other girls were perched in front of it, with a bunch of other girls and boys in different uniforms. Lily pressed the corner.
"This was taken in Moscow with Beaubaxton Academy. The three of us had won a charms competition and was competing against Beaubaxton in Moscow. The girls loved this place. The nuns here were so friendly to us. I know we will come back here some day."
"Looks like I found my clue, Clover."
* * * * * * *
"You look good, Remus, stop fidgeting." James exclaimed as he watched Remus readjust his dress robes for the 10th time. Sirius laughed.
"Shut up, you guys." Remus said crossly. "It…won't…stay still"
"Look," James said, walking over to him. "I'll fix it." James muttered something, and the robes fell into its right place.
"Thanks, Prongs, I owe you one." Remus said gratefully.
"The girls are coming." Sirius exclaimed excitedly. James and Remus turned around simultaneously. Remus was so anxious to see Drew, that he almost wrecked his robe again. James wanted to see Lily in her dress robes before he went to the dance. He knew he wouldn't really have a chance once they got into the hall.
Myall was the first. Sure enough, she was wearing a golden sequined dress robe with her hair, permed and flowing down. It was a start contrast to normal Myall, who always bunned her hair up for quidditch matches. Sirius's jaw dropped.
Drew wore a lime green dress robe, and had her hair up in a bob. She was wearing lots of sparkly jewelry.
"She looks so good." Remus gasped to James. James looked at his friend and smiled.
James:
Remus was always very reclusive. He would never really show he liked something. When we hear a good joke, or do a good prank, he would just smile politely.
This was a different Remus, definitely.
Being too preoccupied by Remus' reaction, he didn't notice Lily's absence.
"Myall, where's Lily?" James asked.
Myall looked up, halfway through a snog with Sirius.
"She has to go somewhere, she's not coming to the ball. In fact, she's upstairs packing."
James took a double take. Then he shot up the stairs before he could hear Sirius yell: "Buddy, your date is waiting for you."
When he reached the girls dorm, James knocked gently.
"Did you girls forget something?" Lily cried from inside.
"You did." James replied. There was a scurry of footsteps as the door opened.
"James, I thought you had gone to see Natalie." Lily said softly. James walked past her and into her room. He saw a small suitcase with clothes in it. He turned around and glared at Lily angrily.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going?"
"Like I said, I thought u had gone."
"That's crap, Lily. You know I was going to walk out with the rest of the boys, who had to wait for your roommates."
"I thought after everything we had gone through, you would treat me as a friend."
"I do."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because…I knew you would stop me."
James looked at her.
"Because I am your friend. I care for you. Why cant you see that?"
"This...isn't your problem. My life isn't your problem. Cant YOU see that? You don't need problems like this."
James walked up to her and looked into her eyes.
"You know what my problem is right now? You. I cant seem to see anyone else but you. It hurts me, every time you cry, or when you are upset…I cant explain it… and I think…I…don't want to." James gently put his hands on her face.
"I want to be there for you, Lily. Please let me into your life." He mumbled softly. Their faces were close now, their noses were almost touching. But it was too close for Lily. She pulled away gently.
"James, you have done so much for me already. Asking you for more, especially with the dangers and sacrifices involved, is too much."
"You are not asking me to do it, Lily. You never did and never will need to. I do it because…I…I…" words had failed James. Both knew what he was going to say, but both knew that this was not the right time to say it. Lily walked towards her suitcase, shut it and picked it up.
"I am catching a carriage from Hogsmede that will take me to a port key that's connected directly to Moscow." Lily said calmly, though trying to hold back her tears.
James nodded. "You will owl me when you get there?"
"Yes, I will, James." Lily said. Then as she approached James, she put her suitcase down, and placed her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. James held her tightly.
"I am really going to miss you. Especially during the Christmas break."
"I'll miss you too." Lily whispered.
Lily pulled away so that she was cheek to cheek with James. James looked at her solemn yet beautiful face and without even thinking, kissed her softly on the lips. He could feel her heavy breathing against his cheeks as they pulled apart. Lily smiled at him.
"Take care, Lily…please. You are all alone there."
"I am never alone, James."
* * * * * * * *