A/N: I want to thank everyone for their kind words about the last chapter. I love you all! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

I don't own Harry Potter.

Harsh Reality

"I still can't believe that we're home already."

"I know," James said a bit regretfully as he opened the front door of their house. "The Canary Islands were great, weren't they?"

"A tropical paradise," Lily smiled. "I think we should go back every year for our anniversary."

"That sounds wonderful," James grinned.

"We'll have to start planning our next trip," Lily laughed as she stepped forward to enter the house.

"Not so fast!" James laughed. He grabbed Lily, sweeping her into his arms.

"James!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Carrying my bride over the threshold," he grinned. "I've always wanted to do that."

"Always?" Lily giggled as he set her down inside the house.

"Well – for as long as we've been together, at any rate."

Lily smiled up at him. "You're sweet, Potter."

"So are you – Potter."

Lily flushed at the sound of her new surname. Even after two weeks, she still wasn't used to the idea that she was now Lily Potter rather than Lily Evans. She smiled at James.

"I love being Lily Potter."

"I love you being Lily Potter, too," he grinned.

A flash of bright light filled the room. Groaning, James picked up the letter that had fallen with a phoenix feather.

"I guess that's it for the honeymoon," he sighed, breaking the seal on the letter.

"What is it?" Lily asked fearfully.

"Another attack," James said. "Here, touch the parchment. We only have about ten seconds until it turns into a Portkey."

Lily reached out for the parchment in her husband's hands. Within seconds, she felt the familiar tug behind her navel as she was jerked away from her home.

They were taken to a village Lily had never seen before. The number of spells being thrown about made the dusky sky explode in color; it was rather like watching a horrifying fireworks display.

"Good, you're here." Moody stepped over to them with a nod. "Black said you'd be home by now."

"We had just walked into the house," James said. "What do you need us to do?"

"Contain the Death Eaters," Moody replied.

James and Lily nodded. It was a habit by now, but they always felt the need to ask for Moody's orders before beginning.

"You know what to do," he said a bit fiercely. "Get to work."

"We're on it," James replied.

Gripping their wands, they stepped away from Moody, into the battle that was raging. Once again, the Death Eaters had spread themselves out around the village. Screams and shouts of rage could be heard from all sides. For a moment, Lily felt disoriented.

"James! Lily!"

They both turned at the sound of their names, and saw Remus running toward them.

"Thank God you're here," he said a bit breathlessly. "This is one of the worst attacks I've seen yet."

"Where are you treating the wounded?" Lily asked.

"Dana and I are fighting today. There's too many Death Eaters, and not enough of us. We haven't had a chance to set up a medical site at all."

Lily blinked. "But what about the wounded?"

Remus shook his head. "Everyone's just doing the best they can."

Lily nodded, knowing that the color was draining from her face. Was this what they had come to? They could no longer even treat those who managed to survive the horror of a Death Eater attack?

"Take that building over there, Lily," Remus said, indicating the town's hotel. "Dana's in there, and I'm sure she could use a hand. James, you and I can go over to the post office. I heard someone screaming in there a few minutes ago."

James and Lily both nodded. They looked at each other for a moment.

"I'll see you soon," James promised.

"Be careful," Lily said, feeling her throat tighten.

"I will," James replied. "You do the same."

"I promise."

With one last look, they parted ways. As she jogged to the hotel, Lily noticed Sirius dueling with a Death Eater, his face set in the familiar emotionless expression of the Aurors. Part of her wanted to stop and help him, but she kept moving forward. Sirius was nearly a full-fledged Auror. He could take care of himself. Dana, on the other hand, needed her.

Lily ran up the stairs to the hotel's front door, and threw it open. She was about to call for Dana when she checked herself. The last thing she wanted to do was to call attention to herself before it was absolutely necessary.

She moved through the main entrance, past the deserted front desk. Scorch marks on the desk told her that the Death Eaters had been here, and had likely tortured the desk aides. Forcing her mind away from that thought, she continued down the hall.

Lily walked as silently as possible. She was alert, listening for the slightest footstep that could be a Death Eater, or the quietest murmur that could be a hex.

It came all too soon. She was only halfway down the corridor when she heard a whisper behind her. Without even thinking, she threw herself down to the floor. A jet of green light flew over her head, and hit the wall behind her. With lightning reflexes, she rolled onto her stomach, and threw up her wand.

"Stupefy!" she yelled.

A harsh laugh met her ears. She reacted to the sound of the voice, and swung her wand arm around.

"Expelliarmus!" she cried.

That spell had the desired affect; a wand arced high in the air, landing several feet away from Lily. Lily jumped up from her position on the floor, and ran toward the voice she had heard. As soon as the Death Eater was in view, she pointed her wand at the body.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The Death Eater hit the ground in a prone position. Lily ran to the unknown stranger, hoping to discover who it was. The Death Eater's mask had slipped away. Lily gasped as she looked into the face that had been revealed.

"Bellatrix?"

Bella couldn't speak, but her eyes narrowed into a glare.

"You're lucky it was me and not Sirius who found you," Lily spat. "I'll be back for you."

"Lily?"

Lily turned sharply, her wand at the ready. She relaxed as she looked into the face of Frank Longbottom.

"Is Dana still in here?" he asked tensely.

"I haven't found her yet," Lily replied. "I did find this one, though." She jerked her head back toward Bellatrix.

Frank nodded. "I'll get her out of here. Go find Dana."

Lily nodded, and continued her journey through the hotel. She had made it to the third floor when sounds of struggle reached her ears. She began moving quickly, unconcerned for the amount of noise she was making. There were obviously others there, and they were already engaged in battle. She had to find them as quickly as possible.

A flash of light under a closed door caught her attention. She ran forward, eager to help her friend.

"Reducto!" she yelled, pointing her wand at the closed double doors.

The doors cracked and split open, and Lily bounded into the room. As she ran in, a chandelier crashed to the floor. Lily looked around, and saw Dana jumping back.

Dana was dueling with a Death Eater, her face showing complete concentration. She was obviously calling to mind every curse she could think of, trying desperately to hold her own in the battle.

As Lily watched, a second Death Eater entered the room. Unbeknownst to Dana, he moved behind her, holding his wand in front of him.

"DANA!" Lily screamed.

Dana took her attention away from the battle to look in Lily's direction. The moment's distraction was enough. Both Death Eaters raised their wands, and Lily was certain she could see their sick smiles behind their masks.

"Crucio!"

"Protego!" Dana yelled, throwing up a Shield Charm to keep the brunt of the curse away from her. "Reducto!"

Her curse hit the Death Eater in the chest, and he fell backwards, choking. Ever the Healer, Dana started to move toward him to help him, even though she knew there was no help left for him. As she moved forward, the Death Eater who had been behind her moved closer, pointing his wand straight at her back.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"NO!" Lily screamed. She ran forward. "Reducto!"

She aimed the spell not at the Death Eater who had cast the Killing Curse against her friend, but at the jet of green light that was flying across the room, hoping that it would be enough to stop it. Her plan worked; the Reductor Curse splintered the Killing Curse, hurtling it toward a wall.

"You stupid girl," the Death Eater growled, turning his attention to Lily. "Crucio!"

Lily screamed in pain, but tried to fight against it. She heard Dana scream something, and the curse was lifted.

"Thanks," Lily said weakly as she clambered to her feet. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God," Dana moaned, dancing uncertainly on the spot. Her wand clattered to the floor as she wrung her hands. "I just killed them both. Oh, God, Lily, I'm a murderer!"

"Calm down," Lily said soothingly. She coughed, and massaged her chest. "What curses did you use?"

"The Reductor Curse," Dana said softly, indicating the first Death Eater. "I shot it straight at his chest. And I used a bone-breaking curse on that one."

"You can't kill someone with a bone-breaking curse."

"You can if you aim it at their ribcage. Don't you remember what Moody taught us? The ribs splinter, and puncture the vital organs."

Lily's eyes widened. "All right." She ran her hands over her face, wishing the after-affects of the Cruciatus would wear off. "It's done, Dana. There's nothing you can do."

Tears formed in Dana's eyes. "Why did I do that? Why would I hurt someone like that?"

"Dana? Lily?"

"Up here!" Lily yelled. "Third floor ballroom!"

Pounding footsteps came down the hall, and Frank appeared in the doorway with Alice right behind him. He took in the shattered ballroom in one glance.

"Are you all right?" Alice asked, concern darkening her features. In the next instant the concern was gone, replaced by her emotionless Auror mask.

"Yes," Lily said. "Dana just saved me from a Cruciatus."

Frank shook his head. "You do attract that one, don't you?"

"Lily saved me from the Killing Curse," Dana said softly. Tears brimmed in her eyes. "But I think I killed these two."

Frank looked at the Death Eaters, then back at Dana. "Dana, you listen to me. You didn't do anything wrong. You did exactly as Alastor and I have taught you. You defended yourself and your partner. You used the necessary force. They would have done the same to you – to both of you – had they been given the chance."

Dana nodded, and tried to blink away her tears.

"We do what we have to do," Alice said softly. "The first time is the hardest."

"It gets easier to kill people?" Dana asked, looking absolutely horrified.

"No," Alice said slowly. "It just gets less shocking."

"What happened to Dana?" James asked as he and Lily waited to get a Portkey back home.

"I'll explain later," Lily said tiredly.

"Hey, guys, come with us," Sirius said, his face set. "We're all going back to our place. We need to talk."

Without a word, James and Lily took hold of the Portkey their friends were gathered around. Moments later, they were transported to the flat that Sirius and Remus shared.

With ashen faces, they took seats in the living room. Dana looked as though she was in a state of shock. Her eyes were red rimmed and open wide as she stared around the room.

"Lily, I want to talk to you," Sirius said grimly.

Lily sighed. She had been expecting this. "I'm sorry, Sirius."

"You were the one to catch her, then?"

"Yes."

"And she tried to hurt you?"

Lily screwed up her face, hating that she had to tell him this. There was no gentle way to break the news; she decided to be completely blunt and straightforward. "Bellatrix tried to kill me, Sirius."

Sirius reached up to grab his hair, and exhaled deeply. "All right. Frank's going to need a statement from you to prosecute her."

"I can take it," Laura volunteered. "Let me know when you're ready, Lils."

Lily nodded. "Are you all right with this, Sirius?"

"Do I have a choice?" he asked. "My family is what it is, Lil. I was done with Bella years ago. I just wonder how Andromeda's going to take it."

"Don't think about it," Olivia said, touching his sleeve. "You'll just make yourself crazy, and you don't need that right now."

A flash of light filled the room. The eight people gathering around collectively held their breath. Not again. They couldn't do this twice in one night.

It was Remus who picked up the parchment, broke the seal, and read the letter. His face relaxed almost instantly.

"What is it?" Peter asked tensely.

"A meeting," Remus replied. "We all have to be at Headquarters tomorrow evening at nine."

"I suppose we need to regroup," Peter mumbled. "I'm sure the Order lost at least one person tonight."

"It's going to get worse," James said heavily. "Somehow, guys, I have a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better."

"Don't think like that," Laura said harshly.

"Do we have a choice?" James asked. "We have to think like that! We have to be prepared for the worst."

Dana drew a deep breath. "Guys – this is going to be my last meeting."

Seven pairs of eyes flew to her.

"What?" Olivia breathed. "What are you talking about, Dana?"

"James is right. This is going to get worse before it gets better, and . . . I can't do this anymore. Tonight, I was nearly killed. Tonight, I killed two people in cold blood!"

"You killed two Death Eaters," Sirius clarified. "There's a difference, Dana."

"Maybe to you!" she cried. "Maybe to Aurors our lives are weighted based on who we are, but I can't think that way! All life is precious, Sirius, and everyone deserves a chance to live. I denied two people that chance tonight."

"Dana, you chose between them and yourself," James said soothingly. "You saved your life and Lily's. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I could have found another way," she said, her voice low and desperate. "There was nothing there saying that I had to kill them to stop them."

"But if you hadn't –"

"They would have killed Lily and me, I know." She paused, and single tear slid down her cheek. "I don't ever want to have to make that decision again. I don't ever want to have to struggle with the idea that I killed someone. I'm getting married, guys – I have to think of Aidan now, too."

"We're married," James said, taking Lily's hand. "And Remus and Laura are getting married. That's a pretty sorry excuse for leaving the Order, Dana."

Dana shook her head. "We're different, James. We set our priorities differently. And that's fine. We shouldn't all be the same person." She paused, clasping her hands together. "I just can't do this anymore. Don't you understand? I can't fight anymore."

Without a word, Lily crossed the room to sit down next to her. She put her arms around Dana, hugging her close. Dana clung to her, the sobs shaking her body.

"I'm sorry, Lily," she moaned. "I can't keep on like this. I have to get out now, while I still can. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course we understand," Lily murmured. "Of course we do."

The next day's meeting was very somber. The Order members were unnaturally quiet as they filed into the meeting room and took their usual places. As she looked around the room, Lily could see that the Order was not the same as it had been when she had first joined. It was not even the same as it had been at the last meeting. She looked into each face, trying to determine who had not made it through their most recent battle. Unconsciously, her eyes drifted to the picture hanging on the wall. It was a wizard photograph of the members of the Order of the Phoenix, taken the day after her wedding, just before she and James had left for the Canary Islands. Who was in that picture that wasn't in the room tonight? Swallowing hard, she pulled her eyes away from the picture as Dumbledore stepped to the front of the room.

"My friends," Dumbledore said as his eyes scanned the crowd, "welcome. As you can see, you are the fortunate ones. You are the ones who survived the battle, who 'lived to fight another day,' as it were. Not all of our members were so lucky." He paused, sadness creeping into his eyes. "Last night's battle took the lives of Marlene McKinnon and her family members. Our intelligence now suggests that she was the target of the attack."

"Why attack an entire village to kill one person?" Dedalus Diggle asked with a frown.

"Our Order members are all very well-protected," Dumbledore said. "With the wards we have placed around each of your houses, an attack against an entire village was probably the swiftest way to reach Marlene and her family."

"Good lord," James muttered. "I never realized . . ."

"This attack suggests that the names of our members are being distributed among the Death Eaters," Dumbledore continued. "There would be no other reason for an attack against Marlene. She was a pureblood, and aside from Marlene herself, her family has remained quite neutral in the battle."

Murmurs broke out across the room. Dumbledore silenced them with a raised hand.

"We have no reason to suspect that a spy is working against us," he said as if to destroy any rumors before they could begin. "We are an active organization, and we are present at each Death Eater attack. Not all of us are Aurors, so that must appear suspicious. It would not be that difficult to track our members.

"My friends, the point I am making is that we are in danger. We have always been in danger, but the threat is now magnified. I ask you all to exercise extreme caution in all that you do." He paused, and looked around at all of them. "As the war we are fighting becomes more ominous, we are all forced to make choices that will determine the best course of action for ourselves and our families. Tonight, I am offering all of you a chance to leave the Order. I know that you all signed a binding magical when you entered the Order, but I am fully willing to declare it null and void if you choose to leave."

Lily drew in her breath sharply. This was it – this was what Dana wanted to do. With the choice before her, Lily knew that for all she had said to comfort Dana, she could not understand. There was a battle to be fought, and she intended to fight it. She would not rest until they had won.

As the meeting adjourned, Dana made her way to Dumbledore. Lily looked away. She couldn't watch as her friend dealt with an impossible decision.

"I have information," Lily said as she walked into Minnie's office.

"Shut the door," Minnie replied. "What happened?"

"Have you heard about the attack on Friday night?"

"Yes," Minnie replied. "There was a blurb about it in the paper on Saturday. Rather sketchy, if you ask me."

"Who covered it?"

"Some new kid. I think his name is Lestrange . . . Yeah, Rodolphus Lestrange. Honestly, they give all the good stories to the ones who can't handle them. He's completely terrified of writing something that might offend someone. I'm sure that either one of us could have done a far better job with it! I mean, he didn't even mention the number of . . ." Minnie trailed off, and looked at Lily, who had an odd look on her face. "Lily? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Lily said slowly. "There's just something about that name that sounds familiar to me, that's all."

"He's been here for a couple weeks," Minnie supplied. "Actually, I think he started while you were taking time off to get ready for your wedding. I don't think you've met him yet."

"Well, maybe it's time that I did," Lily said, standing up from her chair.

"Hold on!" Minnie exclaimed. "You said you had news?"

"Oh, right." Lily sat back down. "Minnie, I was there."

"There?"

"At the site of the attack."

Minnie's eyes grew wide. "What on earth were you doing there? That's about as far from Diagon Alley as you can get."

Lily drew a deep breath. It was time to be honest. "Min, I'm going to tell you something, but you have to swear that you won't tell anyone else."

Minnie grabbed her wand, and put a Silencing Charm on her office. She then muttered an incantation that was unfamiliar to Lily, and swept her wand in a long arc around the room. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"It's a spell to check for any means of listening in on a conversation." She placed her wand back on her desk. "Whatever you're about to say, Lily, it's not going to leave this office."

Lily nodded, knowing that she could trust Minnie. "I was at the scene of the attack for the same reason I've been at every other attack. I'm a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

Minnie's eyes opened wide, and her eyebrows shot up. "You mean it really does exist?"

"You've heard of it?"

"Everyone's heard of it, but there's never been confirmation that it's a real organization."

"Well, I'm living proof that it is."

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Lil, I can't believe it!"

"I should have told you ages ago."

Minnie shook her head. "I can't believe you're telling me at all. Aren't you supposed to move in complete secrecy?"

"Yes, but apparently word of our members' names is getting out. Our secrecy is slipping away from us." Lily paused. "That attack was orchestrated to get to one of our members. And they succeeded – not only was she killed, but so was her entire family."

Minnie gasped. "I had heard that the Order protects its own."

"It does – to the extent that it can. Marlene certainly isn't the first Order member to die."

Minnie shook her head. "I'm confused. Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because I need your help. If these Death Eaters are now targeting people personally, I think we can discover who their main targets are, and the best way to thwart any plans they have against those people."

"Are you trying to save Order members?"

"Yes and no. I want to help the Order, of course, but this attack has made me look at the larger scope of what's happening. In all the research that the two of us have done, we've always given up on looking for specific reasons for attack, considering the Death Eaters to move in random patterns, attacking anyone who isn't pureblood or who opposes them. This last attack suggests that there is nothing random about any move they make."

Minnie looked at her blankly.

"You don't have to help me if you don't want to," Lily said quickly. "This is going to be really dangerous, and there's no reason for you to get involved if you don't want to. I just thought that with everything else we've done together, you might be interested."

Minnie nodded slowly. "We're going to have to do a lot of undercover work. And we're going to need contacts on the inside."

"You mean you want to do it?"

"I may not be a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Lily, but that certainly doesn't mean that I don't want to fight the Death Eaters. I will do anything to make this a safer world for our children."

"Good," Lily replied, relief obvious on her face. She wasn't sure how she would have proceeded without Minnie's assistance. "Now, I need to go met our new coworker."

"His office is the second one from the end on the left. I'm warning you, though, he's sort of odd."

"Odd I can handle," Lily said grimly. "Shading the truth, I can't."

As she walked down the hall, Lily tried desperately to remember where she had seen the name Lestrange before. She was sure that it meant something to her, but she couldn't remember what.

She found his office easily, and tapped on the open door. A thin man looked up, a nervous expression crossing his face.

"Yes?" he asked. His eyes darted past Lily to see if there was anyone else with her.

"Hi," she said, smiling easily. "I was away when you started, but I wanted to come down to say hello, and to welcome you to the department."

"Oh," Rodolphus said, his expression clearing. "Come in."

Lily smiled her thanks, and stepped into his office. She sat down across from him at his desk. "I'm Lily Potter," she said, extending her hand.

An odd expression crossed his face as he shook her hand. It was almost as if he was afraid of her.

"How are you settling in?" she asked conversationally.

"Oh, fine," he said. "I like working here."

"Good," Lily said, thinking that conversation with this one would be difficult. "Did you attend Hogwarts? I don't remember you."

"No, I went to Beauxbatons," he replied. "I moved here after graduation."

"You didn't want to stay in France?"

"My girlfriend – now my wife – is here, and so I needed to be, too."

Lily smiled. "I just got married myself," she said, looking at the pictures on his desk. "That's where I was when you . . ." Her voice trailed off as she recognized the woman in the pictures on her coworker's desk. "Is that your wife?" she asked in a slightly strangled voice. Everything was falling together. She had heard his name because Sirius had spoken of his cousin's marriage.

"Yes," Rodolphus said. Something flashed in his eyes. "Her name is Bellatrix. Actually, you might know her. She went to Hogwarts."

"I think we've met," Lily replied, trying to keep her expression neutral. She tried to kill me only a few days ago, she added mentally. "Well, I did just want to come in to say hello. I really do need to get back to work."

Rodolphus nodded. "I'll see you around, I'm sure."

Lily nodded. "See you," she said as she left his office.

She nearly ran down the hall, and threw open the door to Minnie's office. Minnie dropped her quill as Lily came charging in.

"Lil!" she exclaimed. "What's going on?"

Lily waved her wand, slamming the door shut. "Minnie, that man – Rodolphus Lestrange – his wife's a Death Eater."

"How do you know?" Minnie asked in a hushed voice.

"I helped capture her Friday night."

"Black!"

"Yes, sir?" Sirius asked, pulling his wand down to his side. He had been practicing casting the Cruciatus Curse with the rest of his class. Despite the fears he and Olivia had harbored, Frank had provided them with dummies to practice cursing.

"We need to talk," Moody said, leading Sirius away from the class. "I have been informed that Bellatrix Lestrange is your cousin."

"Unfortunately."

"I wanted you to know before it hit the papers," Moody growled. "She's going to get off."

"How?" Sirius asked. "Lily already gave her statement saying that Bella tried to kill her. Frank was the one to find her, and he was the one handling her case. What more do you need to prosecute?"

"Apparently, she was working under the Imperius Curse."

"Impossible!" Sirius exploded. "Bellatrix has been a Death Eater longer than I want to think about! She's the one who was always trying to drag my brother into Voldemort's organization!"

"For goodness sake, Black, keep your voice down!" Moody barked. "She's telling the Ministry that she was under the Imperius, and that she was commanded to kill Lily. She sobbed quite convincingly, and has been released. As of noon today, she's free."

"Damn her!" Sirius yelled. Catching the look in Moody's eye, he lowered his voice. "How could they believe that? Given my family's history, they should have locked her up in Azkaban to rot for the rest of her miserable life."

"Given your family's history, I should never have allowed you to join our Auror program," Moody growled. "But I was willing to take a chance on you. Apparently, someone was willing to take a chance on her."

"This is lunacy," Sirius said, his eyes sparkling dangerously. "No good can come of this. Bella is one of the most vindictive people I know. She's never going to forgive Lily and Frank for this. Never."

"It's out of our hands, Black. The Ministry made our decision for us."

"Can't the Ministry do anything right?"

"Well, they've promoted one of Potter's best friends," Moody said with a hint of a smile.

"Fudge?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows.

"They made him Junior Minister of the Department of Magical Catastrophes," Moody affirmed. "Which is a catastrophe in itself, if you ask me. That man is completely incompetent."

"Talk to James," Sirius replied. He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair, using the habit he had picked up from James. "There's really nothing else that can be done about Bella?"

"I'm sorry," Moody replied. "Believe me, Black, there's nothing I'd rather do than lock her up, but we have to obey what the Ministry says. Maybe we'll get a chance to take her in again, and maybe that time they'll believe us."

"I just hope it's before she gets a chance to find Lily and Frank," Sirius said. "Because when she does, we'll need Fudge's new department there to pick up the pieces."