Chapter 61 The Dark Mark
September 1981
"And here's one of you and Sirius…" James put the photo he'd been holding facedown on top of a large stack and held up another one for Harry's inspection. "And there's Granny and Grandpa; they were the ones who brought you that train…." Harry yawned widely and mumbled something that might have been "train."
James picked up the next photo. "And here's Mummy and Daddy lighting the candle on your cake…."
"Ma-ma!" Harry had no doubts whatsoever about that picture.
"Hello, darling," Lily grinned at the baby as she came into the sitting room. "What are the pair of you up to?" she flopped down on the rug next to James and kissed him soundly on the cheek in greeting.
"Looking at birthday photos," James leaned over to upgrade the kiss.
"Uh-oh!" Harry uttered his favourite word before things could progress very far.
"Sorry, mate," James winked at Harry as he put an arm round Lily so she could see the photos too. "How's your work going?"
"It isn't," Lily grimaced. "That's why I'm taking a break." She eyed Harry, who was looking distinctly bleary-eyed again. "You know these photos always put him right to sleep," she reminded James. "Which means he won't sleep tonight, which means you and I won't sleep tonight."
"We're almost done." James picked up the next photo, which depicted Harry smeared in birthday cake from head to toe. "Here's you and your cake." Harry yawned again. "Er, maybe you're right about the sleeping bit," James hastily put away the remaining photos.
"No," Harry protested. "No!"
"D'you know, I think that's his second favourite word," Lily unstrapped Harry from his baby seat and tossed him in the air. "It's all right, Harry! What d'you want to do for dinner, by the way?" Lily asked James as she settled a grumpy Harry on a blanket on the floor and surrounded him with toys. Harry immediately moved to all fours and began to crawl toward the sofa.
"I dunno. Sirius said he was coming over; maybe we could order in," James stashed the thick stack of photos in a drawer. "Or maybe he'll bring food."
"He's not bringing curry, is he?" Lily glanced round in alarm.
"I thought you liked curry," James was puzzled.
"I do, but Harry can't eat it."
"He's eaten curry before," James pointed out.
"Exactly my point. Or have you forgotten what happened the last time you and Sirius gave him curry?" Lily reminded James.
"That was one time!" James turned to face Lily, and neither of them paid attention to Harry, who had reached the sofa and was now using it to pull himself into a standing position. "And now we know not to order the Four Alarm Fire Chicken Curry anymore if Harry's eating with us. Live and learn."
"What possessed you to feed our baby, whose diet consists mostly of mashed peas and bananas, Four Alarm Fire Chicken Curry in the first place?" Lily shook her head.
"Well, you've got to admit that Harry's diet is dead boring, Lils," James retorted defensively. "Sirius thought that he might like something spicy for once." Behind them, Harry had pulled himself to his feet and, with a furtive glance toward his parents, let go of the sofa and took his first staggering steps toward the nearby chair.
"And you took baby advice from someone who refuses to believe in the existence of the postal system?" Lily raised a brow.
"Well, I wouldn't have believed it about the postman either if I hadn't seen him!" James came to his friend's defense. "Even you have to admit that the whole idea sounds REALLY far-fetched…."
Lily threw up her hands and turned back to the sitting room. "Oh, for the love of – JAMES!" Lily gave her husband's arm a nudge that was really more like a punch. "Look!"
"Owww," James complained loudly. "What's so important that you had to – Good Godric! Harry!"
Harry, who was halfway to the chair by now, stopped in the middle of taking another step and regarded his parents solemnly.
"He's walking!" Lily threw her arms around James and beamed so hard her face hurt. "He's really walking! Oh, Harry!"
"Finally!" James returned Lily's exuberant hug then threw his arms in the air as though he'd just scored a Quidditch goal. "Well done, Harry! Merlin's beard, where's the camera?"
"You're right; we need the camera! Keep going, Harry!" Lily watched in awe as Harry took another step, hardly daring to breathe.
"Camera, camera…" James, his hair sticking out every which way, tried to search the sitting room and watch Harry all at once. "C'mon, Harry! Almost there!"
Harry took another wobbling step, then suddenly sat down hard on his nappy, letting out a little "oof!" of surprise as he fell. Lily and James waited anxiously for him to get to his feet again, but Harry remained seated, apparently feeling he'd put on enough of a show for today.
"Baby, you walked!' Unable to contain herself any longer, Lily grabbed Harry and kissed him soundly. "That was brilliant!"
"Well done, mate!" James rushed over to tickled the baby's ribs and ruffle his hair, sending Harry into a fit of giggles. "I always knew you were the cleverest baby ever born!"
Tiring of the attention, Harry began to squirm. "Down!" he demanded. "Down!"
Lily gave her son a final squeeze before setting Harry on his blanket again, where he immediately flopped on his tummy and proceeded to toy with a stuffed Bludger.
"Can you believe it?" Lily launched herself at James.
"That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" James hugged Lily hard for a moment before picking her off her feet and swinging her round and round the room.
"Maybe I should come back later," a voice said from the doorway. "Looks like I'm interrupting something."
James stopped spinning and he and Lily turned to find Sirius standing in the doorway, takeout bags dangling from his hands.
"Padfoot, you'll never guess what happened!" James rushed over to his best mate. "Harry just walked!"
"Finally!" Sirius' grin split his face. "I can't believe I missed it!"
"It was incredible!" Lily enthused. "He almost made it all the way to the chair from the sofa!"
"This calls for a celebration!" Sirius declared. "Good thing I brought the Four Alarm Fire Chicken Curry." He brandished his takeout bags proudly.
October 1981
"This whole 'Harry can walk' bit really isn't all it's cracked up to be," James told Sirius as the pair of them made their way down the hidden staircase in the Hog's Head on their way to an Order meeting.
"What do you mean?" Sirius raised a brow. "What happened to you and Lily frolicking through the flat in glee?"
"That was before we realized how many more things we'd have to baby proof," James explained, glancing up the stairs to make sure Lily and Dorcas were coming down the steps behind them. "When Harry was only crawling, he couldn't reach very much. But now everything we had to move out of his way before we've had to put up even higher because he can reach it. Just the other day Harry got hold of my Snitch and almost ate it before we caught him…. And what d'you mean Lily and I 'frolicked' through the flat? I do NOT frolic."
"Romped, then," Sirius smirked.
Lily and Dorcas joined them at just in time to hear the last exchange. "Shall we all frolic into the meeting?" Dorcas grinned. "Or you can romp if you prefer, James."
"Ha, ha," James said sourly and pushed open the door. The other three followed him in, still sniggering a bit.
All traces of amusement soon faded away as Sirius, James, Lily, and Dorcas took their seats. A restless murmur buzzed ominously through the room; emergency meetings, especially ones where Dumbledore required all members to attend, were serious business.
Professor Dumbledore waited a few minutes more for the rest of the stragglers to arrive, then stood and faced the assembled witches and wizards.
"Thank you, everyone, for answering my summons on such short notice. I am afraid that we are faced with a very dire situation," Dumbledore began. "Lord Voldemort is planning another attack on one of the children who is potentially involved in the prophecy." A lead weight formed in the pit of Lily's stomach, and James, Alice, and Frank all looked as ill as she felt.
"A reliable source has informed me," Dumbledore continued, "that Voldemort plans to abduct Morwenna Marchbanks, who is a trusted friend to both the Potters and the Longbottoms," Dumbledore's eyes flicked in their direction, "and place her under the Imperius Curse so that she can lead him to Neville Longbottom."
Alice's face drained of what little colour had been left in it. She gripped Frank's arm and stared at Dumbledore as though her life depended on listening to him.
"What are we going to do?" Sirius was sprawled comfortably in his chair, but his tone was grim.
Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Always a tricky question, Sirius. Morwenna is already hidden in a temporary location and will continue to hide until the Order is able to find a more permanent hiding place for her, out of the country preferably. The Longbottoms will of course relocate, and I should also think it advisable to increase the guard on the Potter residence."
"Do you have any idea of the timetable for all of this, Professor?" Sturgis Podmore asked. "Do you have any idea when the Death Eaters are planning to take Morwenna or attack the Longbottoms?"
"My source indicated that they planned to attack the Longbottoms with Morwenna's help by the end of the week," Dumbledore's voice was weary. "Which leaves us very little time indeed."
The meeting went on late into the night as the assembled Order members worked out the specifics, establishing guard shifts, suggesting protection spells and places where Morwenna could hide.
James, Lily, Peter, and Sirius had volunteered to be Morwenna's Order guard when she left the country, and everyone took at least one shift as a guard. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning by the time the Order dispersed.
Lily, James, and their friends lingered until the others had gone and they were left with Dumbledore, who seemed to have anticipated that they would want to ask questions. "Can we see Morwenna, Professor?" Lily asked anxiously.
"I'm afraid not, Lily," Dumbledore's voice was kind. "It's best that as few people as possible know where Morwenna is hiding."
James was almost completely numb. He'd known Morwenna since they were little; their parents had been good friends, so James had always spent a certain amount of time with her. Even at Hogwarts, when she'd been Lily's friend and Lily had hated him, Morwenna had still been James' friend too, always ready to offer her advice and opinions whether James had asked for them or not. Morwenna had been there for almost all of James' life; he couldn't picture life going on without her.
"I suppose you're right," Lily too sounded a bit numb. "I reckon we'll be going, then."
"Me too," Remus put in. Peter, Sirius, and Dorcas all murmured their assent.
"Professor," Alice was trying to keep her voice level, but she wasn't quite succeeding. "Could we – Frank and I – could we talk to you?"
"Of course," Dumbledore's eyes were compassionate. The others filed out, Lily putting a comforting hand on Alice's shoulder for the briefest instant on her way out.
The Hog's Head's main room was deserted and silent, indicating that even the barman had called it a night. James stopped next to one of the empty tables, the other five crowding in round him.
"I can't believe this is happening," Peter spoke up first. "Voldemort can't get another one of us."
"He isn't going to 'get' Morwenna," Sirius snapped. "She's just going to lie low until we find some way to kill Voldemort and then she'll come back."
"Absolutely," James agreed. But all of them found that they couldn't meet each other's eyes.
"Maybe we ought to go home," Remus suggested into the silence. "Get some sleep."
"Maybe," Dorcas shrugged. "Wish there was something else we could do, though."
"I wish we could see Morwenna," Lily said softly. "She must be so scared, all on her own.".
"Let's go home," Dorcas's shoulders slumped in defeat. "That's all we can do, really. Go home and wait for Dumbledore's signal."
The signal came three nights later. Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius made their way quietly into the Leaky Cauldron just after nine, all of them wearing dark hooded cloaks over Muggle clothes.
The three days between the meeting and the signal had been very tense for the Order of the Phoenix. It had been agreed that Alice and Frank would go into hiding with Neville twenty-four hours after the Order meeting had taken place, which would allow them enough time to pack their belongings and say their good-byes.
Unfortunately, things did not work out according to plan. Alice and Frank had come home from the meeting to find two hooded figures watching their flat. They'd gone after them, but they'd Disapparated before Alice and Frank could get close enough to attack. Still, it had served as an effective warning. They'd raced home, collected Neville, and, with Dumbledore's help, had gone into temporary hiding immediately under heavy Order guard. They'd been moved to a new hiding place two days, later, but they were still heavily guarded and watchful, waiting for the Death Eaters to make their move.
Lily and James had spent the past three days nearly as worried as Frank and Alice had been. They'd had fewer guards than usual and had slept very little, making sure one of them was always awake and with Harry.
Worried though they were, both Lily and James had been adamant about being part of Morwenna's guard. So when they'd received the signal earlier that evening, Lily and James had taken Harry to Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter had each promised to stay awake and with Harry at all times until Lily and James came back, and both Remus and Dorcas had volunteered, along with Benjy Fenwick, to be Harry's guard for the night, but both Lily and Harry had cried when it was time for James and Lily to go.
Lily was still fighting back tears as she stood in the pub with the others, waiting for Dumbledore. She felt horrifically guilty for leaving Harry, but she was equally resolved to help Morwenna out of England. Part of Lily couldn't help but feel that it was her fault that Morwenna was in danger; if she hadn't gone to Morwenna when the Death Eaters had come for Harry, Morwenna never would have become involved so much with Harry and Neville, would never have been brought to Voldemort's attention.
Two figures entered the pub, each of them heavily cloaked and carrying a bag. Without a word the six hooded figures climbed the stairs to one of the private rooms, as had been previously arranged. Only when the door had been locked and Sealed did any of them remove their hoods or dare to speak.
"Morwenna!" James hugged his childhood friend as she pushed back the hood of her cloak. "Are you all right?"
"We've been terribly worried," Lily took her turn embracing Morwenna.
"I'm all right," Morwenna replied as she received a bone-cracking hug from Sirius.
"We haven't much time," Dumbledore said as Peter squeezed Morwenna awkwardly. "It would be best if you left now."
Quickly Morwenna, Lily, James, Sirius, and Peter divested themselves of their cloaks, revealing ordinary Muggle clothing underneath.
"Here," Sirius tossed a motorcycle helmet at Morwenna. "Put this on."
"I thought we were going in a car so that we'd seem like Muggles," Morwenna eyed the helmet with distaste.
"We are," James replied smugly. "You're riding on the motorbike with Sirius."
"But don't worry; he's promised not to fly," Peter piped up helpfully.
"What?" Morwenna appeared less than pleased. "Why?"
"Because Death Eaters would probably assume that you'd be in the car," Lily answered, tucking her hair under a dark wig. "I'm going to be the decoy."
"Isn't this top secret bit fun?" Sirius smirked.
"Feeling any better?" Lily asked sympathetically. Morwenna, who was still a bit green round the gills after her motorbike adventures in London, shook her head.
"I've never been more terrified in my life, and that includes when Dumbledore came to tell me that the Death Eaters wanted to put the Imperius Curse on me," she groaned.
"Maybe you ought to put your head between your knees again," James offered.
They'd made it to Heathrow Airport and were now waiting for Morwenna's flight to be called. "Why are you hiding in France?" Peter wanted to know.
"I'm not," Morwenna looked down at her lap. "I have to go in another air-plate when I get there."
"It's 'airplane,'" Lily corrected gently. "People won't know what you mean if you call it a plate."
"Good to know," Morwenna smiled wanly and took Lily's hand.
"So you don't have any idea where you're going?" Peter seemed confused.
"No, I know," Morwenna seemed to have aged ten years. "I just – well, I can't tell you."
"Well, I hope it's nice there," James didn't know what else to say.
"It ought to be," Morwenna mustered up a small smile. "It's somewhere quite tropical."
"Morwenna," Lily gripped her friend's hand. "I'm sorry, Morwenna. I'm so, so sorry."
"Why are you sorry?" Morwenna wanted to know, clearly surprised.
"Because they wouldn't be after you if it weren't for me," Lily replied miserably. "You stayed out of – all of it - until I came running to you that night and dragged you in. They knew you were around Harry and Neville a lot because I dragged you in."
"Lily," Morwenna squeezed Lily's had in return and looked her dead in the eye. "You didn't drag me. I wanted to help. I couldn't stand back and let Voldemort hurt Harry, or Neville. I chose to become involved, and I'm not sorry." Morwenna blinked back tears and smiled at Lily.
Lily returned the smile and hugged Morwenna tightly, much to the discomfort of the assembled male members of the guard detail.
Eventually Lily and Morwenna pulled apart, sniffling slightly. "Done, are you?" Sirius asked hopefully.
"Yes," Lily rolled her eyes.
"Is Remus staying with Harry tonight then?" Morwenna attempted to change the subject.
"Yeah, he and Dorcas and Benjy Fenwick are guarding Harry at my mum and dad's place," James was relieved to be having a rational conversation again and felt the need to participate.
"Benjy Fenwick?" Morwenna was surprised. "But he got a new assignment."
"What?" James frowned. "Where did you hear that?"
"He was guarding me earlier today," Morwenna explained. "He got an owl from Dumbledore asking him to trade places with Sturgis and help guard Neville tonight instead."
"That's impossible," Sirius said jerkily. "I met Sturgis for dinner right before I got the signal; he had an hour to eat before he had to be back at Alice and Frank's."
"But Benjy Fenwick left to take over Sturgis' shift at four," Morwenna whispered. "Emmeline Vance came to take his place."
"Overreacting much?" Peter snorted. "It's some sort of mix up; Harry's just fine. Let's get Morwenna on her air-plate and then we can go and make sure."
"No," Lily said. A sick feeling had settled in her stomach, and warning bells seemed to be screaming in her head. "We have to get to Harry," she managed to say. "Right now."
When Peter Pettigrew had gotten the signal earlier that evening, he'd wanted to dance and sing with relief. This plan was going to work, and he was finally going to be able to prove his worth to the Dark Lord.
It had been his idea to use Morwenna to get to Neville and Harry, his idea to put her under the Imperius Curse, then stage a situation where she'd be in charge of one of the babies. Morwenna was one of the few people close to Lily and James who hadn't had any training in resisting the Unforgivable Curses, making her an easy mark. It had seemed like a solid plan to him, and so he'd taken his idea to his master.
But the Dark Lord wanted Harry. He planned to eliminate both of the babies, but it was Harry he saw as the real threat. So he'd come up with the decoy plan, which would allow him to get to the baby he really wanted. He'd ordered several of his most trusted Death Eaters to spread the story about planning to use Morwenna to get Neville, counting on the fact that it would reach Dumbledore's ears through his spy system.
That part of the plan had gone off without a hitch; both the spy and Professor Dumbledore had swallowed the story whole and had proceeded to behave just as predicted.
Once everything was in place, Lucius Malfoy had forged a note from Dumbledore and sent it to Benjy Fenwick. It had then been a simple matter to abduct him, snip off a bit of his hair for a Polyjuice Potion, and send Malfoy in his place. Peter didn't know what they'd done with Benjy, a kindly old man who'd been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts for the past couple of years, and he didn't want to know.
All Peter had had to do was stay with Lily and James and Sirius, make sure that they were occupied with Morwenna long enough to give the Death Eaters a chance to grab Harry.
Peter cursed the bad luck that had led Benjy Fenwick to read the note in front of Morwenna under his breath as he watched the situation slip out of his control.
James, Lily, Morwenna, Sirius, and Peter managed to find a secluded corner of the airport and Disapparated, abandoning the car, motorbike, and Morwenna's seat on TWA flight 800 in their haste.
They'd wasted precious seconds arguing and precious minutes finding an isolated spot. Peter had argued strongly that they couldn't abandon their mission or Morwenna and Morwenna had argued just as strongly that they needed to go now and that she was coming with them. James and Lily, terrified and fast losing patience, had fought fiercely for Morwenna's side and when Sirius had weighed in that he too thought they should go Peter had been forced to give in.
James, Lily, Sirius, Morwenna, and Peter appeared with a series of loud pops in the park at the end of the Potters' street. "C'mon," James said as soon as everyone was visible and started up the street, Lily matching him stride for stride and Sirius and Morwenna at their heels.
"This is stupid," Peter huffed for the umpteenth time as he struggled to keep up with the others. "It's just some sort of simple little mix up! Harry's fine, but Morwenna might not be if we don't get her back to the airport –"
James halted, whirled round, and hauled his friend up by the shirt collar. "I know you think this is stupid," he ground out between his teeth. "But this is about my son, and if you don't shut up and let me get to him, I will force feed you your own head." He dropped Peter as quickly as he'd picked him up and continued down the street.
Eight more houses to go, James thought desperately as he forced his legs to take longer strides. Seven houses…..Six….
And then suddenly there it was, casting an eerie green glow over the darkened street. It twinkled and glittered merrily as it caught and reflected the light from the street lamps, inviting the eye to look up and know that the worst had happened.
The Dark Mark.
"NO!" James shouted, and broke into a run. He heard a scream from somewhere to his left, knew vaguely that it was Lily, but he kept going. He had to know what had happened, to see who had survived….
The Potters' town house stood as tall and quiet as it ever had when James had lived in it, the light from the Dark Mark winking off its stones. For the barest instant James' heart slowed, and he stood staring up at the house in disbelief, thinking that there'd been some terrible mistake. But then it registered: the door had been flung wide and two front windows were broken, and the whole house was dark, not blazing with lights like it should have been. James flung himself up the stairs and hurtled through the open door. "Mum! Dad! Harry!"
Lily reached the house just seconds after her husband, gasping for air. "Harry!" she panted, glancing wildly round. "Harry!" Lily lunged toward the steps to follow James.
"Lily, no! Wait!" Sirius caught her round the waist and hauled her back, Morwenna and Peter coming in behind him.
"Let me go!" Lily aimed one shoe at Sirius' shin. "Harry!"
"Ouch! Lily, please, please let me go in there instead. You might not want to see –" Sirius tried unsuccessfully to swallow the lump in his throat.
"Don't you understand?" Lily kicked him again. "I have to be with James, I have to find Harry!"
"Lily! Sirius!" A new voice called, and suddenly there was a figure striding through the garden toward them. Morwenna and Peter, the only two who had their hands free, held their wands at the ready.
"Remus?" Sirius tightened his hold round Lily, nearly cutting off the remainder of her air supply. "Is that you?"
Remus stepped into the light, and both Lily and Morwenna gasped. Remus' face was scratched and bloodied, and a nasty burn streaked the length of one arm, the cloth of the sleeve singed almost completely off. His wand hand was steady, nonetheless, and he clutched a wrapped bundle tightly in the other arm.
"Remus," Lily pried her hands free from Sirius' grip and placed them on Remus' shoulders. "Where is Harry? What's happened to him?"
"He's safe," Remus answered wearily, and unwrapped his bundle. There, asleep in the crook of Remus' arm, was Harry.
"Harry!" A relieved smile lit Lily's face as she scooped the baby up and smothered him with kisses, squeezing him so hard he made a small sound in protest.
"Is he all right?" Sirius asked Remus, grinning from ear to ear at the baby.
"Yeah," Remus replied. "Yeah, he's all right."
"Where's James?" Lily asked, cuddling Harry close as he clung to her and fussed softly.
"Here," a voice answered, and they all turned to find James standing at the top of the front steps, his eyes glassy with shock.
"James!" Lily started toward him. Snapped out of it somewhat by the sound of his wife's voice, James stumbled down the steps to meet her and caught Lily and Harry tightly to him, burying his face between them.
Lily finally pulled back enough to speak. "Where are your parents?" she asked softly, dreading the answer.
"Dead," James replied flatly. Wendell too."
"Oh," Lily managed to say. Oh." She took James' hand with her free one and squeezed it tightly.
"Dead?" Sirius stepped forward, his face as stricken as James'. "But they –"
"I'm sorry, James," Remus said quietly.
"Remus?" James moved past Sirius, dragging Lily and Harry along with him. "Remus, what happened?" he asked urgently, gripping Remus' shoulder. "Tell me what happened!"
"Death Eaters," Remus said wearily.
They'd arrived less than an hour ago, Remus explained. He'd been in one of the back rooms, watching the rear doors, and hadn't even known they were there at first. Then Remus had heard a banging noise and Dorcas shouting, so he'd gone to investigate.
"It was Benjy Fenwick," Remus told them. "He'd gone out to do something, to check something, probably, and Dorcas opened the door to let him back in. I got there just in time to see them coming in behind him and Dorcas trying to hold them off."
Mr. Potter had been coming down the stairs and had intercepted Remus before he could come to Dorcas' aid. "He told me that Harry and your mum were upstairs, that I needed to go and protect them," Remus recollected. He'd slipped up the stairs and found Harry and Mrs. Potter in James' old room, where Harry had been asleep.
As soon as he'd reached them, Mrs. Potter had thrust Harry into Remus' arms. "Your mother told me to take him and get out," Remus continued. "She said that one of us had to get Harry out and that it had better be me because I was in the Order and would know how to get Harry somewhere safe. I argued with her, but she told me not to be a prat and strode off with her wand drawn."
Remus had wrapped Harry up and climbed down the trellis, going slowly for fear of dropping the baby, and had been intercepted by two Death Eaters in the garden. "One of them hit my arm, and I fell the rest of the way down," Remus explained, indicating the burn. "I Stunned one of them before he could do anything worse, but the second one had already shouted for the others to come before I got him."
Remus had used a cloaking spell to hide himself and Harry in the garden while the other Death Eaters searched, Finally one of them had shot the Dark Mark into the air and they'd left.
Remus had waited a few more minutes to be certain there weren't any more Death Eaters, then he'd gone back into the house where he'd found Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Wendell the house elf.
"I heard somebody coming while I was inside, so I took Harry back into the garden," Remus finished his story. "I've never been happier to see anyone than I was to see Lily and Sirius."
"What happened to Dorcas?" Tears streamed down Morwenna's face.
"The Death Eaters took her with them," Remus replied heavily. "She looked to be in bad shape."
Silence settled over the street again as they all tried to fathom what that meant for their friend.
"James," Peter spoke up finally, standing directly in front of the step that James and Lily sat on. "James, what are you going to do?"
James who had buried his face in his hands, lifted his head to survey Peter with blank, glassy eyes. "I don't know," he said hoarsely. "What we have to do. Go into hiding, try to keep Harry safe."
"We'll go with you," Sirius put his hand on James' shoulder.
"We'll help you protect Harry," Morwenna put in. "I'll stay here, and we'll go somewhere that Voldemort can't find him."
"No," Lily looked up at her friends from her perch on the step, Harry still clinging round her neck and whimpering softly. "No, that won't work anymore." Lily glanced at James, and his eyes met hers in perfect understanding before her gaze went to Morwenna. "You have to get on that plane and go into hiding, just as planned. And you," her eyes fell in turn on Sirius, Remus, and Peter. "You have to go back to your lives and jobs."
"What are you going to do?" Sirius stared.
"We're going to do the only thing that will keep us all safe," James answered for Lily. "We're going to disappear."
Albus Dumbledore crept down the staircase toward Hogwarts' main floor, the small flame from his candle the only light in the huge echoing hall.
He was on his way to the kitchens to get some hot chocolate; he needed something to do to occupy his mind, and fetching hot chocolate seemed as good a distraction as any. Dumbledore knew he wouldn't sleep tonight, not until he'd received word that all was well with the Order.
Professor Dumbledore finished his descent and started across the entrance hall. Before he could reach the door that led to the lower corridors, however, a quiet knock sounded against the castle's mammoth outer doors, a knock that would have been inaudible to anyone not standing a short distance away.
But Dumbledore did happen to be standing a short distance away, so he supposed the sensible thing to do would be to open the door. He flicked his wand at the ancient lock and the door swung easily open.
At first there appeared to be nothing there at all. But then a hand reached out of nowhere and pulled the nothingness away to reveal two hooded figures.
"Professor," the smaller figure pulled the hood away, and Dumbledore realized that it was Lily Potter who stood in front of him. "Professor Dumbledore, we need your help."
Author's Note:
Yes, I'm still here and still writing, I just 1.) have been busy this summer and 2.) forgot to put an author's note on the previous chapter. As you've probably guessed, the next chapter will be the last one, and then PI will be finished, just in time for Half Blood Prince.
Thanks, as ever, for the reviews and the support and the patience. Enjoy!