Author's Note: Hey guys, I know this is right after the last chapter, but I
felt like typing more and actually finished it last night, but was too
tired to upload and such, so you get it tonight. You guys are sort of on
the right track, but I've still got you stumped. but I'm hoping that you're
enjoying my story. Here are the Thank Yous as per usual:
Poetbrit- Good luck with 8th grade hun; and keep up with your homework or it will get out of control! Trust me I know!! I haven't had much time to read lately, but hopefully I'll get around to reading the next bit in your story. I'm honored that my story is your favorite.
I o u a name- Rude is Catherine's middle name. thanks for the review!!
EbonyQuill- I'm glad you find Catherine interesting; I'll let her know that you think so. *cackles* You'll see what Sirius does.
Kat6528- I'm sorry about the name! I couldn't really help it! I hope to keep everyone guessing about Catherine.
Captain Oblivious- Elfin Child has been retired. *sighs* You are a wise one, she is. now I've got you wondering, don't I? *cackles*
Anarane- I hope so too.
Midnights shadow of insaneness- That would be far too easy for everyone. but you'll see.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- If I stopped the suspense I wouldn't enjoy writing this for all of you, and then I would be sad because I would have to stop and I don't want to do that, but I'll try to update more often.
Argh, going to have to change email addresses soon, my box is getting really full and I'm starting to not get reviews. checked the site and found 3 that my email didn't pick up. bad hotmail.
Ggal- Heh, a Catherine fan, yayness! You'll see how Cat and Lily "were" at Hogwarts soon. but will it help you to unravel the plot that Catherine's appearance has brought? *smirks*
MegHarts- Another Cat fan, shh, don't let her know I'm calling her that, she might deck me. I was worried about the robe thing. but yeah, you'll see why, I'm afraid it's too eh, cheesy? But that's the chapter after this one. Heeeeeeeerrrrrrreeeessss J- oh I mean Sirius.
JCtigerwolf4e- Thanks, I'm trying. Keep reviewing, the more ya say or ask the more I reply with!! ^_^
And now to the story! *By the by, I've gotten 307 reviews!! So thanks so much for all you're support!*
Chapter Thirty Four: Scouring London for Lily
When Sirius arrived at Arabella's they made plans to meet back there by dinnertime if they had any information regarding Lily's whereabouts and proceeded to split up to search the streets. They checked hotels for people under her name or any variation of it. They asked in bus and train depots after her and by three in the afternoon one of them had found a trace of Lily anywhere.
James had run into Frank Longbottom near the Ministry of Magic and enlisted his help.
"Whoa! James are you okay?" Frank had said when James had accidentally plowed right into him.
"I wish I was. I'm looking for someone," James said hurriedly as he scanned the crowd around them.
"Who?" Frank asked wondering if they were of the good or bad variety.
"Lily Evans, she's got bright red hair and green eyes, about this tall," James said putting his hand at his shoulder's height, "And she's fairly skinny," he finished looking at Frankie hopefully.
"Nah, I haven't seen anyone like that. Why are you looking for her?" Frank asked curiously.
"Many reasons, but the main ones are to apologize and keep her out of danger," James said and pulled at his hair in frustration, not really making a dent in its disorder.
"Ah, some fiery haired maiden has caught your eye! Alice will be pleased to hear it," Frank said with a small laugh before asking. "Who or what is she in danger from?"
"Herself and Voldemort," James said and watched as Frank raised his eyebrows as him.
"Everyone is in danger from Voldemort, but why is she in danger from herself?" Frank asked curiously as a group of chattering muggle women passed by them whispering about James and various aspects of his appearance, mainly his read end. Frank rolled his eyes and James didn't even notice which made Frank wonder just who Lily Evans was to his friend.
"She just found out she's a witch a few days ago," James said under his breath.
Frank laughed, "So she's Hogwarts bound, why is that a problem?" Frank asked not really understanding.
"She's seventeen, Frank, not ten or eleven," James muttered and rolled his eyes.
"Whoa! Hold it. Seventeen? Why didn't she go to Hogwarts?" Frank asked looking extremely confused.
"Voldemort. So, she's untrained, carrying a wand and we aren't sure if Voldemort knows she's found out or not as we had a run in with Malfoy and Snape the other day and who knows if they told him or not," James said angrily. There was no real proof that Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were Death Eaters but with their attitudes toward Muggleborns at Hogwarts as substantiation it was James' assumption that they were part of Voldemort's group of lackies.
Frank sighed, "Okay. I'll help you James, I just hope that Voldemort hasn't found out yet," he said and they started down the street stopping every red haired girl that even remotely resembled Lily. They didn't find her and James was growing more and more fearful by the minute.
Arabella and Remus wound up meeting each other near St. Mungo's neither of them having any luck as of yet.
"Anything?" Remus asked Arabella after almost knocking her to the ground.
"Nothing, not a bloody thing," Arabella said angrily and kicked a rock on the pavement into a sewer grate.
"Me either. Have you seen James or Sirius?" Remus asked quietly.
"No. I keep stopping red heads but I'm not having any good fortune," Arabella said and looked around at passersby hopelessly.
Remus sighed in frustration and looked around. He saw the homeless man from the previous night and walked over to where he sat against the building. "Sorry to bother you sir, but have you see and red headed woman about my companions' height carrying a bag anywhere around here?" he asked hopefully with a smile.
The old man looked up at Remus and rubbed his eyes. "One sees many things if they look for them. Why does this woman interest you sonny?" the man asked with a toothless grin.
"She's a friend of our and she might be in trouble," Remus said and was beginning to think that his idea to asked the man wasn't such a good one.
"Trouble eh? Well lemme think," the man said and proceeded to scratch his head and screw up his face in concentration. Remus waited while the man thought and Arabella approached cautiously behind him. They were both scared to get their hopes up.
"I do recall one girl that matches your description. She was in jeans and a dark colored shirt with a backpack slung over he shoulder. She got off the bus just over there," the man said and pointed across and up the street to the left. "She walked that way," he pointed to the right, "and she seemed really troubled as she walked by. She had the most startling green eyes I've ever seen," he said and scratched his head again. "Does that help any?" he asked.
"Yes, very much," Remus said as he and Arabella exchanged glances. "Thank you," Remus said and they started off in the direction that the man had pointed.
They looked for possible places that Lily could have gone and wound up running into Sirius. "Any luck?" Sirius asked quickly.
"We think that an old man might have seen her; he gave a very good description," Arabella said hopefully.
Sirius sighed, "Where haven't we looked?" he asked in frustration, he knew that they were missing something.
"Maybe she went back to her sisters?" Remus asked dubiously.
"I doubt it but you can check King's Cross with Bella. I'm going to meander, I think better alone," Sirius said quietly, stating a fact that they already knew.
"Alright, see you in a few hours at my house," Arabella said and kissed Sirius' cheek before starting off down the street that would take her and Remus to King's Cross.
Sirius watched them walk away before returning to the task at hand. 'We've looked every where in London that Lily could possibly know her way around but there's got to be something we're missing,' Sirius thought to himself letting his feet take him where they pleased. He soon found himself on a street that was far too familiar for his tastes. Grimmauld Place where his childhood home stood just two houses down.
He absently wondered how his brother's N.E.W.T.'s went and then grunted and walked right past number twelve without so much as a glance. That's when it hit him. They'd looked everywhere they could think of that was MUGGLE for Lily, without considering she might have gone somewhere that wasn't. "How could we have been so dense?!" Sirius proclaimed and headed toward the Leaky Cauldron at a jog.
He arrived outside it about ten minutes later and looked around at the faces on the street just incase she hadn't thought about Diagon Alley until recently and to take a moment to catch his breath. Seeing that none of the faces were familiar he stepped into the wizarding pub and glanced around. He didn't see anyone familiar and so he walked up to Tom the bartender. "Hey Tom, I've got a question for you," Sirius said and he stood at the bar, his hands placed on the polished, but slightly dingy looking wood and leaned forward a little bit.
"Yeah, what's that Black?" Tom replied as he set aside the rag he was using to wipe the bar with.
"Do you remember that girl that James and I came in with the other day?" Sirius asked as he pushed some of his lengthy black hair out of his face.
"Yes I do, why?" Tom replied with a toothy smile.
"Have you seen her lately?" Sirius asked quickly and waited expectantly for Tom's answer.
Tom thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah, she headed into Diagon Alley a few hours ago. She must be doing some serious shopping because I haven't seen her come back out."
Sirius looked pleased. "Thanks Tom," he said and made for the entrance into Diagon Alley. He tapped the correct brick with his wand and the archway opened up for him. Standing just inside the Alley he wondered where Lily would go and what she would do. Would she just wander aimlessly or was she there for a purpose? Looking around Sirius saw not a single person in muggle clothing and Lily would want to blend in. Smiling brightly he walked into Madam Malkin's feeling like he was on the right track.
"How can I help you?" cheerful as always, Madeline Malkin asked when she heard the tinkle of the bell announcing a customer.
"I'm looking for a friend of mine who might have come in here," Sirius said with a smile and leaned upon the counter smiling warmly.
"Really who?" Madeline asked still smiling though she was slightly suspicious.
"Well, she's got red hair and green eyes, she's really pretty," Sirius answered and hoped that he would get a satisfactory answer.
"Ah, yes. She was in a few hours ago," Madeline answered and walked out from behind the counter to a rack that needed to be straightened.
"Did she purchase anything?" Sirius asked as he followed Madeline across the store.
"Yes she did," Madeline answered and faced Sirius with a grim smile.
"May I ask what?" Sirius asked but he got the feeling that he wasn't going to get much more in helpful answers out of her and he was quite right.
"No you may not. She was a kind girl and I helped her out because I knew she was running from something and I'm not about to help those doing the chasing. Now get out of my shop unless you are going to make a purchase," Madeline said and pointed toward the door with a scowl which didn't at all suit her pleasant face.
Sirius held up his hands. "I'm not going to hurt her; I'm trying to help her. I'm sorry for bothering you," he said and turned to go.
Madeline sighed and called out, "A cloak."
Sirius turned back, "What color?" he asked hopefully.
Madeline shrugged, "Many, now go," she said fiercely.
Sirius nodded and mumbled, "Thank you," before leaving and standing outside the robe shop looking at all the people wondering which one Lily could be. He wandered down the Alley a little further stopping in front of The Magical Menagerie and looking up at Gringotts. If he went in there and started asking questions about Lily the Goblins wouldn't be very receiving, they had a slight problem these days with wizards, but they worked diligently none the less. He heard something coming from The Leaky Cauldron side of the Alley and headed back wondering what was happening within the pub walls.
A/N: Now you're wondering what's going on in The Leaky Cauldron. haha. can't tell you, you're gonna have to wait until the next chapter. which is mostly typed up. Keep reading and reviewing guys, suggestions, comments and criticism are welcome and invited! I need ideas! I'm getting a case of writers block. If anyone wants to help me with something Snape related I would appreciate it more then you know!! ~Frankie~
Poetbrit- Good luck with 8th grade hun; and keep up with your homework or it will get out of control! Trust me I know!! I haven't had much time to read lately, but hopefully I'll get around to reading the next bit in your story. I'm honored that my story is your favorite.
I o u a name- Rude is Catherine's middle name. thanks for the review!!
EbonyQuill- I'm glad you find Catherine interesting; I'll let her know that you think so. *cackles* You'll see what Sirius does.
Kat6528- I'm sorry about the name! I couldn't really help it! I hope to keep everyone guessing about Catherine.
Captain Oblivious- Elfin Child has been retired. *sighs* You are a wise one, she is. now I've got you wondering, don't I? *cackles*
Anarane- I hope so too.
Midnights shadow of insaneness- That would be far too easy for everyone. but you'll see.
Black-cat-on-the-wall- If I stopped the suspense I wouldn't enjoy writing this for all of you, and then I would be sad because I would have to stop and I don't want to do that, but I'll try to update more often.
Argh, going to have to change email addresses soon, my box is getting really full and I'm starting to not get reviews. checked the site and found 3 that my email didn't pick up. bad hotmail.
Ggal- Heh, a Catherine fan, yayness! You'll see how Cat and Lily "were" at Hogwarts soon. but will it help you to unravel the plot that Catherine's appearance has brought? *smirks*
MegHarts- Another Cat fan, shh, don't let her know I'm calling her that, she might deck me. I was worried about the robe thing. but yeah, you'll see why, I'm afraid it's too eh, cheesy? But that's the chapter after this one. Heeeeeeeerrrrrrreeeessss J- oh I mean Sirius.
JCtigerwolf4e- Thanks, I'm trying. Keep reviewing, the more ya say or ask the more I reply with!! ^_^
And now to the story! *By the by, I've gotten 307 reviews!! So thanks so much for all you're support!*
Chapter Thirty Four: Scouring London for Lily
When Sirius arrived at Arabella's they made plans to meet back there by dinnertime if they had any information regarding Lily's whereabouts and proceeded to split up to search the streets. They checked hotels for people under her name or any variation of it. They asked in bus and train depots after her and by three in the afternoon one of them had found a trace of Lily anywhere.
James had run into Frank Longbottom near the Ministry of Magic and enlisted his help.
"Whoa! James are you okay?" Frank had said when James had accidentally plowed right into him.
"I wish I was. I'm looking for someone," James said hurriedly as he scanned the crowd around them.
"Who?" Frank asked wondering if they were of the good or bad variety.
"Lily Evans, she's got bright red hair and green eyes, about this tall," James said putting his hand at his shoulder's height, "And she's fairly skinny," he finished looking at Frankie hopefully.
"Nah, I haven't seen anyone like that. Why are you looking for her?" Frank asked curiously.
"Many reasons, but the main ones are to apologize and keep her out of danger," James said and pulled at his hair in frustration, not really making a dent in its disorder.
"Ah, some fiery haired maiden has caught your eye! Alice will be pleased to hear it," Frank said with a small laugh before asking. "Who or what is she in danger from?"
"Herself and Voldemort," James said and watched as Frank raised his eyebrows as him.
"Everyone is in danger from Voldemort, but why is she in danger from herself?" Frank asked curiously as a group of chattering muggle women passed by them whispering about James and various aspects of his appearance, mainly his read end. Frank rolled his eyes and James didn't even notice which made Frank wonder just who Lily Evans was to his friend.
"She just found out she's a witch a few days ago," James said under his breath.
Frank laughed, "So she's Hogwarts bound, why is that a problem?" Frank asked not really understanding.
"She's seventeen, Frank, not ten or eleven," James muttered and rolled his eyes.
"Whoa! Hold it. Seventeen? Why didn't she go to Hogwarts?" Frank asked looking extremely confused.
"Voldemort. So, she's untrained, carrying a wand and we aren't sure if Voldemort knows she's found out or not as we had a run in with Malfoy and Snape the other day and who knows if they told him or not," James said angrily. There was no real proof that Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were Death Eaters but with their attitudes toward Muggleborns at Hogwarts as substantiation it was James' assumption that they were part of Voldemort's group of lackies.
Frank sighed, "Okay. I'll help you James, I just hope that Voldemort hasn't found out yet," he said and they started down the street stopping every red haired girl that even remotely resembled Lily. They didn't find her and James was growing more and more fearful by the minute.
Arabella and Remus wound up meeting each other near St. Mungo's neither of them having any luck as of yet.
"Anything?" Remus asked Arabella after almost knocking her to the ground.
"Nothing, not a bloody thing," Arabella said angrily and kicked a rock on the pavement into a sewer grate.
"Me either. Have you seen James or Sirius?" Remus asked quietly.
"No. I keep stopping red heads but I'm not having any good fortune," Arabella said and looked around at passersby hopelessly.
Remus sighed in frustration and looked around. He saw the homeless man from the previous night and walked over to where he sat against the building. "Sorry to bother you sir, but have you see and red headed woman about my companions' height carrying a bag anywhere around here?" he asked hopefully with a smile.
The old man looked up at Remus and rubbed his eyes. "One sees many things if they look for them. Why does this woman interest you sonny?" the man asked with a toothless grin.
"She's a friend of our and she might be in trouble," Remus said and was beginning to think that his idea to asked the man wasn't such a good one.
"Trouble eh? Well lemme think," the man said and proceeded to scratch his head and screw up his face in concentration. Remus waited while the man thought and Arabella approached cautiously behind him. They were both scared to get their hopes up.
"I do recall one girl that matches your description. She was in jeans and a dark colored shirt with a backpack slung over he shoulder. She got off the bus just over there," the man said and pointed across and up the street to the left. "She walked that way," he pointed to the right, "and she seemed really troubled as she walked by. She had the most startling green eyes I've ever seen," he said and scratched his head again. "Does that help any?" he asked.
"Yes, very much," Remus said as he and Arabella exchanged glances. "Thank you," Remus said and they started off in the direction that the man had pointed.
They looked for possible places that Lily could have gone and wound up running into Sirius. "Any luck?" Sirius asked quickly.
"We think that an old man might have seen her; he gave a very good description," Arabella said hopefully.
Sirius sighed, "Where haven't we looked?" he asked in frustration, he knew that they were missing something.
"Maybe she went back to her sisters?" Remus asked dubiously.
"I doubt it but you can check King's Cross with Bella. I'm going to meander, I think better alone," Sirius said quietly, stating a fact that they already knew.
"Alright, see you in a few hours at my house," Arabella said and kissed Sirius' cheek before starting off down the street that would take her and Remus to King's Cross.
Sirius watched them walk away before returning to the task at hand. 'We've looked every where in London that Lily could possibly know her way around but there's got to be something we're missing,' Sirius thought to himself letting his feet take him where they pleased. He soon found himself on a street that was far too familiar for his tastes. Grimmauld Place where his childhood home stood just two houses down.
He absently wondered how his brother's N.E.W.T.'s went and then grunted and walked right past number twelve without so much as a glance. That's when it hit him. They'd looked everywhere they could think of that was MUGGLE for Lily, without considering she might have gone somewhere that wasn't. "How could we have been so dense?!" Sirius proclaimed and headed toward the Leaky Cauldron at a jog.
He arrived outside it about ten minutes later and looked around at the faces on the street just incase she hadn't thought about Diagon Alley until recently and to take a moment to catch his breath. Seeing that none of the faces were familiar he stepped into the wizarding pub and glanced around. He didn't see anyone familiar and so he walked up to Tom the bartender. "Hey Tom, I've got a question for you," Sirius said and he stood at the bar, his hands placed on the polished, but slightly dingy looking wood and leaned forward a little bit.
"Yeah, what's that Black?" Tom replied as he set aside the rag he was using to wipe the bar with.
"Do you remember that girl that James and I came in with the other day?" Sirius asked as he pushed some of his lengthy black hair out of his face.
"Yes I do, why?" Tom replied with a toothy smile.
"Have you seen her lately?" Sirius asked quickly and waited expectantly for Tom's answer.
Tom thought for a moment and then said, "Yeah, she headed into Diagon Alley a few hours ago. She must be doing some serious shopping because I haven't seen her come back out."
Sirius looked pleased. "Thanks Tom," he said and made for the entrance into Diagon Alley. He tapped the correct brick with his wand and the archway opened up for him. Standing just inside the Alley he wondered where Lily would go and what she would do. Would she just wander aimlessly or was she there for a purpose? Looking around Sirius saw not a single person in muggle clothing and Lily would want to blend in. Smiling brightly he walked into Madam Malkin's feeling like he was on the right track.
"How can I help you?" cheerful as always, Madeline Malkin asked when she heard the tinkle of the bell announcing a customer.
"I'm looking for a friend of mine who might have come in here," Sirius said with a smile and leaned upon the counter smiling warmly.
"Really who?" Madeline asked still smiling though she was slightly suspicious.
"Well, she's got red hair and green eyes, she's really pretty," Sirius answered and hoped that he would get a satisfactory answer.
"Ah, yes. She was in a few hours ago," Madeline answered and walked out from behind the counter to a rack that needed to be straightened.
"Did she purchase anything?" Sirius asked as he followed Madeline across the store.
"Yes she did," Madeline answered and faced Sirius with a grim smile.
"May I ask what?" Sirius asked but he got the feeling that he wasn't going to get much more in helpful answers out of her and he was quite right.
"No you may not. She was a kind girl and I helped her out because I knew she was running from something and I'm not about to help those doing the chasing. Now get out of my shop unless you are going to make a purchase," Madeline said and pointed toward the door with a scowl which didn't at all suit her pleasant face.
Sirius held up his hands. "I'm not going to hurt her; I'm trying to help her. I'm sorry for bothering you," he said and turned to go.
Madeline sighed and called out, "A cloak."
Sirius turned back, "What color?" he asked hopefully.
Madeline shrugged, "Many, now go," she said fiercely.
Sirius nodded and mumbled, "Thank you," before leaving and standing outside the robe shop looking at all the people wondering which one Lily could be. He wandered down the Alley a little further stopping in front of The Magical Menagerie and looking up at Gringotts. If he went in there and started asking questions about Lily the Goblins wouldn't be very receiving, they had a slight problem these days with wizards, but they worked diligently none the less. He heard something coming from The Leaky Cauldron side of the Alley and headed back wondering what was happening within the pub walls.
A/N: Now you're wondering what's going on in The Leaky Cauldron. haha. can't tell you, you're gonna have to wait until the next chapter. which is mostly typed up. Keep reading and reviewing guys, suggestions, comments and criticism are welcome and invited! I need ideas! I'm getting a case of writers block. If anyone wants to help me with something Snape related I would appreciate it more then you know!! ~Frankie~