Hey guys! Back again! I'm so glad that you're enjoying my story! Yee! Virginia: If you look on "Lily's Bad Day", up at the top, it says how I send in my chapters, since other readers were wondering, too. And cough there might be a kiss later on… but you didn't hear it from me!! Anyways, keep reading! I love you all!

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Chapter 11

Hagrid Tells All

A few hours later, when it was close to 2:00 in the morning, Dumbledore and the rest of the staff came hurrying up the path from Hogsmeade to find Lily and James still standing at the doorway, dazed and shivering. It took a long time for James to explain what had happened to the castle doors.

Lily couldn't help shaking uncontrollably when James explained about the man who was not hit by their blast of curses. She felt her cheeks growing wet with silent tears again. She was lucky to be alive… and James.

James could have been killed. That was the whole cause of the break in. Lily couldn't help thinking that it was his fault… all his fault…

"Is this true, Lily?" Dumbledore asked her suddenly.

"Wh-what?" Lily mouthed faintly. His face flickered with a slight smile, as he repeated the question for her.

"Did the man talk to you two?"

Lily found that words failed her. She could hardly breathe, let alone speak. She simply nodded. Luckily, it was enough for Dumbledore.

"And, sir, he knew that you weren't at the school." James added. "I think the attacks in Hogsmeade were a diversion of some kind."

"I'm sure you're right, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said softly. Lily noticed her eyes were wet and round- as though they had seen things they did not want to see. All the teachers looked helpless and shocked… Dumbledore alone looked calm.

"Our safety precautions must be heavier, Headmaster." Walter said nervously. "It's apparent we're not being vigilant enough."

"I quite agree, Carl." Dumbledore replied. "Now, Lily and James, why don't you two head up to your dormitories? I'm sure your friends will be anxiously waiting to hear from you."

"What can we tell them, sir?" James asked. "What about the people of Hogsmeade? Surely they'll want to know…"

"Now is not the time to explain the horrors at Hogsmeade." He said shortly. "But you should tell them the truth about your encounter."

"Yes, sir." James murmured. "Come on Lily."

"Hm? Oh, all right." Lily whispered, her throat tight.

They didn't speak as they made their way through the dark halls of Hogwarts. The horrors of Hogsmeade… what did that mean? Didn't Dumbledore think she could handle the truth?

"Rhododendron." James murmured to the Fat Lady in the portrait. She yawned, and swung forward, revealing the Gryffindor portrait hole. Lily crawled through, her mind hazy.

Just as Dumbledore had said, their friends were all waiting in the common room, asleep in unlikely places. Lily would have done anything to fall on the couch next to Remus and sleep, but James just had to go to the pouf and shake Sirius awake.

"I didn't do it!" Sirius shouted thickly.

"Shut up…" Madison grunted, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

"You shut up…" Peter moaned.

"Wake up, guys." James said solemnly. "We're back."

"Oh, James…" Remus said groggily. "What time is it?"

"'Round two." James answered, checking his watch. "Wake up!" He said, shaking Sirius, who had dropped to sleep again.

"What happened?" Belle asked, rubbing her eyes. "I thought you were just going to patrol the halls until Dumbledore got back…"

"That's what we were doing." James said.

"Lily? What's wrong?" Belle asked, eyeing her nervously. "What happened?"

"Don't ask if you don't want to know." James warned.

"What happened, James?" Remus repeated.

"They broke into the castle." Lily whispered with difficulty. "The Death Eaters… tried to kill James…"

"They what?" Everyone asked.

"While the staff was in Hogsmeade, 5 Death Eaters came up to the castle, and broke in. Lily and I thought we'd stunned all of them… then one got up and spoke to us." James said calmly.

"He told us that if we could tell him where James was, Voldemort would reward us." Lily said, finally regaining full use of her voice. "Then he threatened to kill the both of us if we didn't speak up." Remus stared at her as she spoke, as though trying to put together what she had just said. Wordlessly, he motioned to the couch and Lily sat down next to him. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders, while their friends looked at the floor in concentration. Finally, Madison spoke up.

"What did you do? What did he say?"

"Fired another stunning curse at him." James replied. "But he got us first…"

"Got you first, you mean." Lily added softly.

"Got you, James?" Madison repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Crutatious Curse." James said shortly, rubbing his forehead as though it ached.

"Crutatious Curse? James!" Belle exclaimed. "Are you okay? Do you need to see a nurse?" She asked fearfully.

"No." James said quickly, looking ashamed.

"It was awful to watch…" Lily said, as an image of James wriggling on the floor flashed across her troubled and confused mind. James glanced at her, almost to silence her from describing his moment of weakness.

Sirius clapped a supportive hand on James's shoulder, as if he didn't know what to say to make his spirits lighten. Sirius's usually jolly face was serious, and it wasn't something Lily was used to- it was unrecognizable.

"But then the teachers came back." Lily continued, trying to change the subject. "But they wouldn't tell us about what happened in Hogsmeade."

"We saw the Dark Marks out the window." Sirius murmured. "There were tons… horrible things, those Marks."

"Yeah…" Peter agreed softly.

The group sat in silence again for a long time. No one knew what to say… no one knew what to believe. It seemed so hard to understand. The wizarding world was flawless… Why would someone want to wreck havoc? What was to be gained? Unless Voldemort wanted to be Minister of Magic… but that was just silly.

Without another word, Lily stood up and walked up the stairs to bed. No one else moved; they might not have even noticed that she had left. In a daze, she changed into her nightclothes, and crawled into her four-poster, and drew the curtains shut. Her bed had never felt quite so comforting. She sank into its feathery depths, feeling safe and comfortable for the first time that night.

It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, Lily had been sitting down in the Grand Hall for Halloween dinner… and then everything changed…

Lily awoke the next morning with bags under her eyes, and a stiff back from tossing and turning most of the night. Every time her eyelids drooped shut, they would snap back open when the Death Eater swooped through her dreams.

Lily wanted to steer clear of the topic at all costs that day, but it seemed unavoidable. Every place she went, that was all people were talking about. It was all anyone wanted to discuss.

The worst thing was when people would come up to her to ask about the break in- for that story had gotten out too. Lily would just shake her head, and tell them she didn't know anything, then ask them to leave her alone.

But she did know. She knew all too well what had happened.

By the time Monday rolled around, Lily was tired of questions. She found that even the teachers had grown preoccupied.

As the Gryffindors made their way down to the last class of the day, double Herbology with the Ravenclaws, James sped up to walk with Lily.

"Hey." He said softly in her ear.

"Hi." Lily replied, not even looking at him. "What do you want?"

"I have a proposition for you." James said making fun of business people.

"And what's that, good sir?" Lily asked, playing along.

"Well, I know that you're just as curious as I am about this whole Hogsmeade thing." James said. "So I was thinking…"

"That's a dangerous pastime for you, James."

"Yeah, yeah." James said, waving Lily's joke. "But I thought that there is one person who would tell us about it."

"The teachers said they wouldn't tell us, until they thought we were ready… whenever that'll be…"

"He's not a teacher, you nerd." James chuckled. "Conveniently, his cabin is just over there…" James replied, pointing to Rubeus Hagrid's house that stood on the edge of the forest.

"Are you suggesting we-?"

"Skive off? Yup." James said. "We'll get Si to cover for us… and then we can get all the information we need. Something tells me Hagrid won't have a problem telling us whatever we need to know." He said, raising his eyebrows. "Well? What do you say?"

"Potter, are you kidding?" Lily asked. "We'd get in so much trouble if Professor Sprout ever found out!"

"How could she? What if we said you weren't feeling well, so I brought you up to the hospital wing?" James suggested. "Come on, what's the worst that'll happen?"

"I told you what Binns said about being Head Girl…"

"He was just threatening you… he wouldn't really do that." James urged. Then he turned to Sirius. "Hey Si! We're… er… going to the hospital wing, all right? You'll tell Sprout for us, won't you?"

"Whatever you say, Jamie-poo!"

"Don't call me that!" James shouted back. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

Before Lily could say no, he grabbed her elbow and steered her to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Lily had met the gamekeeper only once before, and Hagrid had seemed nice. It was rumored that he was the heir of Slytherin. But that wasn't the thing that made Hagrid so intimidating. He was huge! As tall as a giant, his hair was matted, and his eyes were small, black, and beady. His mouth couldn't even be seen underneath his scruffy beard. And as James parked Lily before the door, and knocked on his tall door, Lily held her breath. What was she doing here? She should be in class with the rest of the Gryffindor seventh years!

But just as she voiced this to James, the door squeaked open, and Hagrid stood at least four heads above James.

"Good afternoon, Hagrid." James replied cheerfully. "We have a few questions for you, would you mind?"

"'Lo there, James. I wouldn' mind t'all! Com' on in… I was jus' puttin' on some tea." Hagrid replied cheerfully. He shepherded Lily and James into his one room cabin. In the corner, there was a large bed, and the fireplace was crackling happily. In the center of the room, there was a big, round, scrubbed table.

It was here that Hagrid offered Lily and James a seat. They both sat down, and accepted the cups of tea that were as large as soup bowls.

"Would yeh care for a cake? I jus' made em dis morning." Hagrid asked, placing a plate of rather squashed biscuits.

"Er- no thank you." Lily said politely. Then, as Hagrid turned his back to put away the teapot, Lily spoke to James sharply and softly. "We shouldn't be here, James. Let's go… we're going to get into so much trouble!"

"Geeze, Lily. Have a little faith in Sirius. If I know him at all, he'll keep us out of trouble. I have no doubt he'll think of something…" James assured.

"Now then, what about them questions yeh had for me?" Hagrid asked, joining them at the table. He held his teacup firmly, and grinned.

"Well, it was about Halloween…" James said. "Could you tell us exactly what happened that night in Hogsmeade?"

"I dunno why you'd wanna know abou' tha'." Hagrid replied in surprise.

"We just want to know the truth." Lily added. "I mean, we need to know what we're all up against, you know?"

"I get it." Hagrid said. "Well, when we all got there, there were those Death Eaters runnin' around all over da place- settin' fires, and blowin' stuff up. People were screamin', and babies were cryin'…" Hagrid said, his eyes growing unfocused. "But tha' wasn't the worst part: there were bodies… jus' layin' on the ground. Some were floatin' in the air like a puppet."

"That's horrible…" James said softly.

"Yeah, it was." Hagrid said.

"What did you do?"

"Dumbledore gave us orders to get the living people out of da way… so we did our best. Da worst part was watchin' them Death Eaters runnin' around, killin' at random. No one really knew how to help. Dumbledore an' some of da Ministry Wizards were the on'y ones with their heads on straight, to be honest." Hagrid shrugged glumly. "Wish we'd'a gotten there faster. Couldda saved more people, I think."

"I'm sorry, Hagrid." James replied. "Lily, you and I should have gone with them- we really could have helped!"

"James, are you kidding?! If we hadn't been at the castle, those Death Eaters would have gotten in!" Lily said.

"Lily's righ' James." Hagrid said. "And who knows what couldda happened then."

"James, what was that thing the Death Eater asked you about?" Lily asked. "You know, that crystal?"

"Oh yeah!" James said. "Hagrid, that one man asked us about the… Hidden Crystal of Hogwarts, was it? What was he talking about?"

"Er- what?" Hagrid said, uncomfortably. "I… dunno what yer talking about…"

"Hagrid…" James scolded. "We can handle the truth."

"I'm not supposed to tell yeh- or anybody!" Hagrid said.

"Hagrid, please?" Lily urged. "Tell us…"

"I can't…" He moaned. "Well, yeh won' tell anyone, would you?"

"Of course not!" They replied at the same moment.

"Well, the Hidden Crystal… is… well, I don't even know much about it, really." Hagrid said quickly. "But, it was given to Dumbledore fer… safe keepin'. Don't make me tell yeh by who or why, cuz I won't tell yeh."

"Safe keeping?" James repeated. "Why, though?" He asked Lily, who shrugged.

"I dunno!" Hagrid exclaimed.

"Yes you do." Lily said. "You just refuse to tell us."

"Tha's right. I won' say anymore about that Stone of Rialle." Hagrid resolved, taking a big swig of his tea. "But I will say tha' Dumbledore's a great man. I can't say tha' enough."

"And why's that?" James pressed, winking at Lily.

"Helpin' out Nicholas Flamel like tha'! Just when he was so confused… Great man." Hagrid said. But when he saw the growing pleasure on James and Lily's faces, he put his face in his hands. "Shouldn't'a said that! I should not have said that!"

Lily and James exchanged happy glances.

"Yeh won't tell anyone, will yeh? Lily, James? Promise me!" Hagrid demanded fearfully. "Students aren't supposed ta know!"

"We won't tell." Lily assured him. "If you tell us who Nicholas Flamel is. And what's he got to do with the Stone of… Rialle, was it?"

"Stone of Rialle." James corrected quickly, putting his hands on his fists, and looking anxiously at Hagrid. "So, who is he then?"

"He's da creator of the Stone." Hagrid said angrily. "But I ain't gonna tell yeh any more! Yeh'd do best to leave now. Aren't yeh missin' class?" He asked suspiciously.

Lily looked angrily to James. "I told you we'd get caught!" She whispered sharply.

"Actually, Hagrid… we, er, got a pass to see you. Head business, you know." James said quickly. "Oh, darn, Lily!" James said, snapping his fingers. "I think I lost our pass on the way down here!" He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"No! You did?" Lily said, playing along dramatically. Hagrid looked at them strangely. "James, how could you?"

"Wait a moment! Hagrid! Why don't you write us a pass to Herbology? Then we won't get into trouble!" James suggested hopefully.

"I don't believe a word tha' you jus' said. But sure; I'll walk you two down there." Hagrid replied. "I was on me way down there anyway."

James and Lily entered greenhouse 4 with smug grins on their faces. The whole class turned, to see the giant Hagrid leading them in, and frowned enviously.

"Ah! Glad to see you're feeling better, Lily!" Professor Sprout exclaimed. "Hagrid, thank you for walking them back from the Hospital Wing, but it was unnecessary."

"Hospital Wing?" Hagrid repeated, looking at Lily and James, who smiled at him meekly. "Tha's right, Sprout. Lily here wasn't feelin' so great, so I thought I'd lead her back here."

Lily sighed in relief, and returned to her seat next to Madison and Belle. As she pulled out her book, she glanced back at Hagrid, who winked at her. She grinned broadly back in thanks. Maybe he wasn't quite as bad as he looked. Appearances sure were deceiving at Hogwarts…