Hi, thanks to those who reviewed last time. As you can see I'm trying to load chapters quicker. The next chapter is half way and at worst will be uploaded by Christmas but hopefully before then. Chapter has been sent to my beta and will be replaced as soon as possible with a sparkly edited version.
A HEAVY CONSCIENCE
It had been forty eight hours and still no word on the whereabouts of Aggy Court. Lily had wanted to put the remainder of the wedding plans on hold saying it just wouldn't be the same without the presence of her first and best friend since she had been eleven years old. It was only at the instance of Remus that Lily finally gave way and the preparations for her wedding to James in three weeks time got under way once more. Annie was hard at work on the robes but arguments arose as Lily noted that Annie had put Aggy's robes to the back of the pile. Voices raised and tears shed, saw the elegant robes of Agather Court taking priority. Everything was coming together; all that was now missing was the tall dark curly haired figure of the absent Gryffindor.
Alastor Moody had managed to convince the Ministry that it was definitely in their favour to put some resources into the rescue of his girlie green stick. It had taken him a great deal of shouting and in the end he had had to call in of some tabs but two teams had been assigned to the search and recover of the young women. From within the Order of the Phoenix every spare moment was dedicated to the search for Aggy, but with each passing hour hope seemed to ebb at retrieving the missing girl alive and unharmed. Dedication drove on the friends in their hunt for their missing comrade but so far to no avail. Watching Sirius Black was as if time had been turned back as the melancholy that over took him at the death of Tara during the Christmas of seventh year returned. The only thing that seemed to be driving him forward each day was his unrelenting dedication to finding what he felt was yet another victim of his over zealous ego. This hadn't been helped by the significant absence of Remus Lupin who upon hearing the report of how Aggy had gone missing found the only way to deal with it was to avoid his childhood friend.
For once it was decided among the small group to leave well alone, Remus needed to work through this in his own time and that Sirius could not be saved the heart ache his actions had caused him. He needed to learn to think before he acted, considering the consequences of his behaviour had never been one of Sirius's strong points and this was just another example of what his recklessness cost his friends.
Hidden away from the public eye, time moved at a different rate for Aggy Court and she was for once grateful for the narcissistic nature of Lucius Malfoy. He had been more concerned with showing off his prize to his fellow Death Eaters and so far all she had received were a few slaps or the odd curse. Apart from being hit with the crucio curse once, she was in fairly good shape. Most of the time she had been kept blindfolded which made it difficult to for her to judge how long she had been held captive. But what she did know was that from the murmurings the good times were about to end. If what she had heard was correct then she was going to be presented to Voldermort himself in a few days and used as the prize for some kind of show down. Listening to what some of the masked thugs had bragged about doing, Aggy didn't hold out much hope for survival, if she wasn't rescued before the duelling competition took place.
Trying to maintain a positive outlook although some what hard, especially when the first sign of human contact was a hand tangling in your hair to drag you into a standing position and then used as method to direct you to where you where going. Aggy decided that regardless of what she looked like, if she escaped this little shindig then the long curly locks were going, never again would they be used against her as an instrument of torture. What had shocked her most was that one of the most vicious and ruthless of the voices that floated around her belonged to a woman. Aggy knew that she didn't recognise the voice but it had qualities to it that were almost familiar as if she had heard something similar but not quite the same. If the stories the women told were true, then the only thing she could hope was that she was not one of the people taking part in the duel. Hospitality so far had been thin on the ground and the most she had managed to gain was a couple of sips of water.
At some point sleep had taken hold and it wasn't until a familiar cacophonous hiss pulled her from the shallow depths of morpheous she had been floating in, did she get a small glimmer of hope. She recognised the voice of a seriously pissed off Severus Snape, it held the same tone he had used during their potions classes when paired with a less able student. Words were delivered in a way that clear informed the recipient that they were a fool and not worthy to be in his presence. Aggy knew that more then once in their last two years at Hogwarts this strange Slytherin had come to the rescue of the small group of Gryffindor girls, Aggy Courts only problem was whether he would help her without the presence of Lily Evans. Trying to remain focused on the words being banded around her was a struggle, Aggy knew that she was on the edge of delirium caused by being dehydrated and she found that more than once she lost the flow of the conversation. At the sound of the retreating footsteps and the groans of the guard Aggy Court decided that all was not lost and once again sleep claimed her.
For Severus Snape the sight of the dark haired girlfriend of the werewolf set his mind running and his conscience prickling. Even now he couldn't understand why this particular bunch of females caused his protection instincts to go into overdrive. For one, the girls were all Gryffindor's and for another most of them belong to males he rank high in his most hated list. Yet on more than one occasion he had come to their rescue and now another sat by the looks of her on the verge of total shutdown awaiting the sadistic torture that was undoubtedly around the corner. Although he was a fellow Slytherin Lucius bloody Malfoy was once more at the root of all his problems, the man was a royal pain in the neck. Striding from the safe house Snape disappeared from view the moment he reached the apparition border and for the next couple of hours he paced his section of his family's dungeons. The only thing his mother had ever done right was persuading his father he needed the space to do potions experiments that wouldn't affect the rest of the household.
Knowing that time was running out, his conscience once more won out over his Slytherin nature that told him that people deserved what they got and got what they deserved. Selecting a piece of parchment he raised the creamy coloured sheet to his nose and checked the smell, the potion it had been soaked in was active. If he was going to give the Gryffindors the information they needed then it wouldn't be tracked back to him. Anyone reading the note would become befuddled causing them to dismiss the owl and so render any tracing spells useless. Having made his decision Snape jotted the necessary details for the rescue of Aggy Court onto the parchment and then sent it to the one person he still maintained a modicum of respect for from his class mates, Lily Evans.
Lily threw her self head long into her work, between experimental charms, Quidditch training and searching for any information that would lead her closer to finding her best friend Lily had little time for anything else. Arriving at the small flat at the end of the third day James Potter was not surprised when he found it empty; the absence of Aggy had already cast a strange eeriness about the place. Reaching into his robes James removed the latest information he had received deciding that he may as well analyse it while waiting for his future wife to return home. Settling into the comfortable sofa it wasn't long before his eyes began to close; this was the scene that greeted Lily as she made her way into the sitting room. The sight of her handsome boyfriend brought a small smile to the sorrow etched face. Shrugging out of her work robes Lily quickly joined James on the sofa snuggling up next to him and relaxed for a moment, savouring the feeling of those strong arms slipping around her. Even in sleep James seemed to know just what she needed and right at his moment she just needed to be held. Nestling further into the warm side of the peacefully slumbering body, Lily was soon drifting off into a much needed deep sleep.
The distinct tapping of an owl trying to get into the room woke James, before the noise had fully registered in his sleep jumbled brain. James basked in the glorious warmth his beautiful girlfriend who was now lying partly across his chest was radiating. Again the insistent tapping broke the moment and James carefully slid from his comfortable position to open the window. A large black owl hopped onto the window ledge and looked at him with great distain at having been kept waiting. James reached for the note tided to its leg but his progress was halted as the bird made a swooping attack with its sharp beak for his hand. Pulling back quickly James eyed the bird once more before trying again to retrieve the letter but again it bobbed its head and doing a better job of its attack this time it managed to draw blood.
Glaring at the animal James swore under his breath before turning to glance at the sleeping girl. James hated the thought of waking her when she so desperately needed sleep but there was nothing left for it and he tried shouting at the bird to give him the bloody letter but the owl just squawked loudly at him.
"James, what are you doing? Just take the letter off its leg."
Frustrated, James cast a glare at the girl saying, "What do you think I've been trying to do? The bloody thing just keeps attacking me. You come and try, the letter must be for you anyway?"
Slowly rolling her self from the sofa, Lily managed to get to her feet and made her way to the window.
"Hello beautiful. Are you going to let me have the letter?" Lily asked while watching the bird and at the same time moving her hand gently towards it. Its dark brown eyes blinked at her and she received a soft hoot in response to her request. Deciding this was good sign Lily reached for the parchment and quickly released it from its leather binding.
Smiling at the bird Lily offered it her thanks and an owl treat, which it accepted from her. Without thinking Lily opened the window a little further and instructed the owl to leave. James watched her curiously and wondered why she had dismissed the owl so quickly but became distracted by the scratch on the back of his hand. As they made their way back to the sofa Lily noticed James rubbing at the scratch on his hand.
"Ah, poor baby did the nasty birdie scratch you!"
Lily couldn't help but smirk at the look of horror on James' face and then laughed as he turned on the little boy face, batting his eyelashes at her and holding his hand out for her to kiss it better. It wasn't long before what had started as an innocent kissing of a booboo better that they found themselves wrapped in each others arms kissing as if their life depended on it. A crinkling sound broke Lily's concentration as she remembered the letter. Pulling away from James, Lily reached for the discarded parchment that had fluttered to the floor. Popping the seal Lily scanned the letter and then dropped her eyes to the signature but unsurprisingly considering the content of the note found it missing. Leaning over her shoulder to read along with her, James caught the letter as it dropped from her grip as if it had burnt her fingers. Raising it once more James focused on the neat script that flowed over the page and felt his breath catch in his chest.
It was information on the whereabouts of Aggy Court.
Noticing that Lily seemed to be immobilised by what she had read, James leaped into action and within seconds he had thrown floo powder into the fire. Head thrust into the green flames James barked instructions into the fire before moving back out and turning into the room. Walking back over to Lily James took her by the shoulders and shook her lightly; getting no response he shook her a little bit harder.
"Come on Lily, snap out of it. We need to get up to the castle. Lily move now."
Finally, Lily raised her head and said, "Oh god James, what if we don't get to her in time?"
"Well if we sit here much longer we never will. Come on lets get over to The Three Broomsticks."
Finally Lily nodded at him and rose from her seat and within seconds they found themselves whirling through the floo system on their way to the old pub in the heart of Hogsmeade village. James arrived first and turned just in time to catch Lily as she was flung from the flames. The walk up to the castle seemed to take longer than ever, the knowledge that what ever happened in the next couple of hours would seal the fate of Aggy weighed heavily on the pair.
Nervous faces waited in the oval room that was located somewhere near the Headmaster's office, one by one the select group of witches and wizards assembled. The anonymous tip off was deliberated and finally a plan was put in place. It was decided that the Ministry of Magic would be not be informed and that any measure necessary would be taken to retrieve Aggy. The final decision made by Albus Dumbledore was to hex first and ask questions later.
Stealth was the name of the game as small groups of four entered the old abandoned Manor house in silence. Spreading out, the building was checked floor by floor, the necessity for speed became a must with the first skirmish because they knew that it wouldn't take long for the death eaters to get reinforcements into the building and out number them. Initially it looked hopeless as the assigned rescue party made a move to head up towards the top floor. Just as they had made it onto the first floor landing, a hand had reached out and grasped the robe of the anchor man pulling them behind a tapestry and into a hidden room. Heart racing Lily Evans turned to face her attacker and was shocked to see the hood of the cloak being swiftly removed. Bracing herself for the worst Lily felt her heart settle as she recognised the dark lank locks of Severus Snape.
"Listen, she is in a room at the far end of the corridor behind the portrait of the mantecore."
Before Lily could say anything, he had already raised his hood and was moving towards the entrance. Lily quickly reached out and grasped the sleeve of his cloak. Halting his progress, Severus Snape turned to face her for a brief moment.
"Thank you Severus."
But all she received was a nod and he was gone. Waiting a second Lily followed the same way and quickly found the rest of the rescue party. Locating the required portrait was not a problem but the disarming of the wards took a little time and was not helped by the sound of the battles that were fast approaching their position. Finally the portrait swung open and Remus burst through the portal, wand firmly held before him but the sight of his girlfriend slumped against the far wall broke his control. Wand slipped from his fingers as he dashed towards her, the others were close but not quick enough to stop the crouched figure holding Aggy from firing a slicing hex in his direction. The black cloaked wizard got no further as three stunning curses hit him in the chest. Gasping for breath Remus clutched at the wound in his left shoulder blood already seeping through his worn robes. It hindered him but did not stop him from reaching Aggy or from taking her into his arms and holding her tight.
Reaching his side Lily was grateful for the hefty foot that kicked the stunned death eater out of the way. Thankful of the healing charms she had learned, Lily cast a diagnostic spell at Aggy and while it was working she worked on moving Remus's cloak far enough so that she could reach the wound and cast a simple close and heal charm. It would scare but she didn't have time for anything else. Glancing at the end result of Aggy's diagnosis, Lily sighed in relief most of her injuries were superficial but she needed to get some fluid into her fast.
Lily turned to the concerned faces behind her and giving the briefest of nods she said, "We need to move. Aggy needs fluids and I can't do that here."
Actually getting Remus to release his hold of Aggy long enough for him to stand was a job in itself and it took the threat of being hexed to get him moving. Within moments Aggy was back in Remus's arms, a feather light charm placed upon her and they were finally moving back down the corridor. Each knew they were not out of the woods yet and if getting in had been hard getting out was going to be a nightmare. As they descended each floor a signal was sent out to inform any order members that the mission had been accomplished and to pull out. It was a laborious task but the wards around the old Manor house had proved to be a problem and communication methods were limited but the Order had made it clear in the very beginning that no one was ever left behind. Reaching the ground floor felt like a major achievement, especially with the few casualties they had collected along the way but two hours after the assault had started they were heading back out into the open court yard and moving towards an apparition point.
Ensuring that everyone left safely was organised by James Potter, he quickly assessed those that would need to travel by portkey and those capable of apparating. Distinct popping sounds could be heard as the sign for departure was given. That left two groups of three James quickly brandished a tea spoon and a crumpled paper cup from one of the pockets of his robes and they too soon found themselves being whisked away from the dreary old building. To Lily's relief the portkey deposited them safely in the cosy sitting room of James and Remus's quarters in the bowels of the old castle. With slightly unsteady legs, Lily guided Remus through a door and managed to get him to softly lower Aggy onto the four poster bed. Glancing around Lily noted James was stood in the open door way and gestured for him to go out. Unable to do more without the help of some potions Lily followed James into the sitting room.
"James, we need Madame Pomfrey. I just don't have the experience to deal with this or access to the right potions."
Not bothering to reply with more than a nod James headed to the fireplace and a floo call later found both Albus Dumbledore and Poppy Pomfrey striding from the flames. Albus remained with James as Lily guided to school's Medi-witch into the bedroom.
A/N: Thanks for reading, please leave a review and let me know what you think.
Madame Padfoot