Charlie shot out of bed. She was panting heavily, and sweat was dripping off of her face. She looked at her wrist watch to see that it was only eleven thirty. She had fallen asleep as soon as she had entered the dormitory, exhausted from the stomach filling food at the feast. She looked over and saw that Hestia and Emmeline were both asleep. Her nightmare passed vividly through her mind. Kylie Adams, lying on the ground still as stone, and Lily screaming a blood curdling scream. James shielding Lily from view, trying to protect her from what she saw. James levitating the body and gently pulling Lily along with him to the infirmary. A silently laughing figure hidden in the dark of the dungeons, watching James and Lily leave. Suddenly a horrid thought ran through Charlie. It wasn't a dream, it had happened, and James and Lily needed them.

"Hestia! Emmeline! Up, get up guys! Now, this instance!" Charlie said, leaping from bed, not caring that she was only in a black sports bra and plaid pajama bottoms. "GET UP!"

"What's all the bloody yelling for?"

"Nothing Danielle, go back to bed." Charlie said to another Gryffindor seventh year, Danielle Dearborn. She and Dorcas Meadows were best friends, and both were extremely nice girls.

By now Hestia and Emmeline were up.

"Come on, I had a vision of Lily and James. They're both fine, but they need us. Get down to the common room as fast as you can, I need to get the guys," Charlie hissed and ran out of the dorm. She ran as fast as she could across the common room and up the dorm to the boy's room, blessing the fact they didn't have the stairs the girls did.

She flew through the door of the seventh year boys, and it opened with a bang. Frank Longbottom jumped but he didn't wake, however Peter fell off his bed.

"Peter, go down in to the common room immediately. Emmeline and Hestia will explain everything. Just go, and don't ask questions."

Peter nodded and did as Charlie told him; it had been only on one other occasion that Charlie had done anything like this. Two years ago, James fell forty feet from his broom, goofing off, and Charlie had come rushing in reacting the same way.

Charlie searched the beds, and saw two next to each other. One was completely spotless, but the other one looked as if someone had been there for years, not hours.
"Sirius! Sirius!" Charlie said, shaking him, but he slept on. Charlie bit her lip and looked pleading at Remus. By now Remus was waking up, and looked over at Charlie and saw the worry in her face.

"Are they okay?" Remus muttered, asked anxiously, fear in every word.

"Fine, but they need us. The others are already downstairs," Charlie said, thankful Remus wasn't as thick as some. Remus nodded, and he too headed down the stairs. Charlie was still shaking Sirius, who was still sleeping. She was desperate; he needed to be woken up. So she did the only thing she could think of doing; she poured water on his face.

Sirius jumped up and looked around confusedly, and his eyes widened upon seeing a half-dressed Charlie in front of him.

"Come on you fat lard, hurry the bloody hell up," Charlie said, throwing him his pants that were lying at the foot of his bed. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her then one thought hit him.

"James?" he croaked, searching Charlie's face for hope.

"Is fine but he needs you, so let's go." And after those few words all Sirius saw was extremely long curly blond hair disappearing out of sight.

James and Lily were sitting in the Hospital Wing, staring at the lifeless body of Kylie Adams. Lily desperately wished her friends were there with her. She couldn't understand how someone could do that to a child so young. It was inhumane. Lily was subconsciously rubbing the ice-cold hand of Kylie, unaware of James's glances her way.

James was thinking along the same lines as Lily. However, besides thinking of his friends, he also wished Dumbledore was here. Madam Pomfrey, the new nurse, had gone after him, forcing Lily and James to stay. James had a feeling that Lily would've stayed anyway.

He was watching her and despite the grave situation, he smiled. The nurturing mother side of Lily was appearing, and James loved this side about her. He remembered during the summer, when the whole crew bunked at James's house, James was forced to watch Harry. Of course, one thing led to another and Harry ended up breaking his arm. Being four, and without a mother, Harry was hysterical. Lily immediately rose to the position, nurturing him and helping him to calm down. She mended Harry's arm, and stayed with him as long as Harry wanted her to. Lily was going to make a great mother one day.

"Oh thank God!" Sirius's voice broke out across the infirmary. James and Lily looked over to see all of their friends walking towards them. Sirius had a huge grin on his face and looked ridiculously relieved.

"You doubted me, I see," Charlie said, looking at Sirius. She was wearing a robe now, thanks to Remus. He had loaned his to her as he had been fully clothed underneath of it. She had gladly taken it, cheeks reddening at realizing how indecent she was.

Sirius just looked at her and as they neared Lily and James, was surprised to see what lay on the bed by Lily. As one, James and Sirius blocked Emmeline and Charlie from view, something they did subconsciously. They wanted to protect them from the sight. Lily got up and walked over to Emmeline, who wrapped her in a hug, letting Lily cry on her shoulder. Emmeline rubbed her back soothingly as Remus walked next to Sirius and James to talk to them. Charlie was busy with Lily. Peter had gone off knowing well enough where to make tea, and set upon making a pot.

"Must've been a first in Hogwarts history. It's not everyday you see a first year get murdered, . I mean honestly, they can be annoying little buggers but who wants to hurt a first year?" James said, looking desperately at his friends. This had to be the roughest night of school he'd ever had. Never had he seen Lily look so torn.

"Well, I can name a few. It just goes to show us that our worlds plunging deeper and deeper into a living hell. We're supposed to be safe here at Hogwarts, not having to worry about our lives," Sirius said, grimly shaking his head.

Remus was looking at James. He could tell James was hiding something from them by the look on his face. "James, what's up? What aren't you telling us?" Remus asked bluntly. James looked shocked and guilty, obviously not wanting to say what he knew.

"I found this on the floor under Kylie's body. I haven't showed it to Lily yet, mainly because it affects her and Charlie the most. I mean, the letter was even addressed to me, so I know there's not point in hiding it any longer. But I just can't bring myself to tell Lily," James said, handing Remus and Sirius a small note that had small snakelike writing on it.

PotteR the MudBlood Lover,
The cleansing of Hogwarts has begun. Evans and Dearborn are on the list, mudbloods iF I've Ever seen Any. Have you noticed ouR target? A Mudblood that spokE and praised your dear Evans at dinner surely needed to die, so she has. I'd keep a good eye on your mud blood friends. They're on the list, Potter, there they're on the list.

Remus shook his head. "This is sick, disgusting. Well, at least it's obvious what they're trying to do. Not very discreet, are they?" Remus said like it was obvious.

"Er, why don't you inform us Moony… what do you mean?" Sirius asked, completely confused by it all.

Rolling his eyes, Remus pointed at the letter. "Look, they're trying to scare you Prongs; they want you afraid. If you look the F in if, the E in ever, the A in any, the R in our, the M in mud, and the E in spoke are all in a bigger writing then the rest of the letter. It spells 'Fear Me.' And in the addressed part the R in Potter and L in lover, are in capitals and darker writing. Who exactly do we know with the initials R. L.?" Remus asked, looking at Sirius and James. Sirius's eyes widened.

"Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange," James said instantly.

"Regulus Leonardi," Sirius said. To his surprise James and Remus started laughing.

"What?" he asked.

"You get the middle name of Orion, and Regulus gets Leonardi?" Remus asked, shaking his head. "No wonder your brother's evil."

Sirius laughed too, and then his expression turned grave. "Do we tell the girls?"

"I think that would be a very wise decision, Mr. Black. ," Dumbledore said. He had just appeared to their knowledge, but Sirius was sure he had heard everything.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, you two will return to your dorm momentarily, and you six will return to your dormitory as well." Dumbledore said to Peter, Sirius, Remus, Charlie, Emmeline, and Hestia. "But as of now, we need to speak." Dumbledore continued. "Tonight something unspeakable has happened. Tomorrow the school will know by an announcement I have the unfortunate choice to make. A child so young should not have to suffer so early. Miss Adams has a brother and a sister in Ravenclaw, who will not take this news lightly. Their own flesh and blood has been taken from them in one night, no warning made. But Kylie Adams was put in Gryffindor for a reason, and as fellow Gryffindors you must honor that. Tomorrow chaos will ensue, and terror will reign the halls of our beloved school. This will not be a happy year, I fear. Someone who can take the life of a child so young, so innocent, so pure, deserves the fiercest of punishments. I will ensure justice will be done. As of now, return to your dorms and I'll speak with all of you later. Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, break the news to them lightly." Dumbledore said, his eyes filled with sadness and fierce anger. The boys nodded and they all stood to go.

"Oh, and Miss McKinnon please come see me tomorrow after breakfast?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, Professor," Charlie said, following the others out. The walk back to their dorms was grim and quiet. No one spoke, as James and Lily turned down the opposite way to the Heads' dorm. Charlie knew perfectly well what Sirius and Remus had to tell them, but it wasn't going to make it any easier.

hr

Lily and James entered their dorm and gasped. Even though they were both exhausted, they were still able to marvel at their surroundings. The common room was painted in red and gold, a fire place burned burning brilliantly in one corner. Squishy couches and cozy chairs sat near the fireplace, and a desk was in the corner with ink, quills, and plenty of rolls of parchment. Two separate staircases led to two doors, and in between the staircases was a third door. The doors stood out brightly in deep mahogany wood. One of the doors had 'Lily Mercy Evans' written in neat scrawl on a golden plaque, while the other had 'James Elias Potter,' written the on the opposite door. Lily and James both walked to the doors with their names on it, and entered them.

Lily gasped in amazement at her room. Floating candles and lilies were spread throughout the room, creating a soft glow. Her walls were painted the deep colors of a sunset, and her bed was as big as could be. Deep red velvet covers lay on her bed, and she had many beautiful, soft pillows. The room at large was bigger then the dorm in the Gryffindor house. There was a desk in one corner, a closet in the other, and a door in the remaining one. Walking cautiously to the door, Lily opened it.

James entered his room and beamed. His walls were covered with Quidditch posters, and colored a deep blue grey. His bed, with room to fully roll three times without falling off, was covered in dark green covers. His room had Snitches, Bludgers, Quaffles, and brooms flying throughout the wallpaper, giving it a full out Quidditch touch. On one wall, the wall he definitely favored, was a Stag, Dog, Rat, and Werewolf in the forest under a full moon. He noticed with glee that part of the room had a wall full of dark detectors and other devices that would be useful in pranking and sneaking around. There was a door, he noticed, by his closet, so he went and opened it.

Lily and James found themselves looking at one another.

Lily entered the bathroom, as did James. "Well, I guess we share bathrooms," James said.

Lily nodded and laughed slightly. The tub in the bathroom was bigger then that in the prefects' bathroom, and a shower was in the opposite corner. There was a door separating the two that looked like it led to the toilets. Two sinks on either side of the room provided the necessary objects each one needed. With their own sinks, they both could get ready in the morning, without fighting for mirror space.

"The door locks to the opposite person's bedroom when one wants to take a shower or bath, and no spell whatsoever can let someone in unless the person already occupying the bathroom lets them," Lily read off of a paper she found next to her sink.

"Well, we'll just have to find a way about showers and such. I can take them the night before if you need to do your hair or whatever in the morning," James said. Lily smiled.

"Thanks. I'm not sure what to do about that yet, but I guess for now we'll just wing it?" Lily suggested. James agreed, nodding his head. "Well what do you have to tell me?" Lily asked.

James looked around hesitantly. "Do you want to go out in the common room to sit or something? You're going to want to be sitting when you hear this," James said.

Lily nodded. "Okay, but let's just go to my room; it's closer," Lily said, and James for some unknown reason blushed, but followed her.

He was amazed with Lily's room, it having an altogether calming effect about it. The floating candles lit all around created a soothing feeling. James sat at Lily's desk chair as Lily sat on her bed. James breathed nervously, and began. "Well you see, Kylie was found with a letter addressed to me. Would you like to read it yourself?" James asked, really having no idea about how to go about explaining it.

Lily raised one eyebrow. "Sure," she said, and took the letter. Lily was silently reading it, James watched as her expression turned from confusion to anger. "Well I'm sure as hell am not going to fear him, and James you better not either," Lily said, looking at the note like it was a tedious piece of paper. She shook her head skeptically. "That was the worst form of trying to get someone to fear them that I've ever seen."

James laughed truly for the first time that night.

hr

"So you're saying he's after Charlie and Lily?" Emmeline said slowly as they all sat in the Gryffindor common room.

"Not exactly. Whoever it is wants us to be afraid, and make us believe they are after us, when at the same time all Muggleborns and half-bloods are in danger," Remus said.

"Well, I'm a half-blood, so that means me, Charlie and Lily are all in danger," Emmeline said.

"Are you really?" Sirius asked shocked, he always thought…

"My grandfather was a Muggle," Emmeline said. Sirius nodded. Remus sighed, not only did he have to worry about some of his best friends dying; now the girl he loved also.

'Wait,' Remus thought, 'Loved?'