A/N: Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it! To everyone who doesn't, I hope you had a fantastic weekend!
As for Sirius and Olivia's break up – my cousin actually broke up with her boyfriend for the same reason Olivia broke up with Sirius: she wanted to get married, but he didn't. So, as stupid and unreasonable as it seems, it does happen. Sorry about the break up, but it had to happen. It'll all make sense in a few chapters.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thanks for reading and reviewing! You're all the best!
I don't own Harry Potter.
Thrice Defied
Why weren't we able
to see the signs that we missed?
And try and turn the tables?
Nickelback, Someday
"ALEXANDER! Watch what you're doing!"
Olivia jumped at Moody's voice, and gripped her wand more tightly. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize to me," Moody growled. "If this had happened in the field, you'd have to apologize to the coworker you killed!"
"Moody, it's just a practice drill," Frank said in an attempt to smooth the situation over.
"What happens in practice will happen in the real thing," Moody said. "And that dummy just lost its head! You're supposed to go for the captor, Alexander, not the one who has been captured!"
"I know that," Olivia said, trying to keep her tone even.
"I know you do," Moody said. "If you didn't, you would have been out of Auror training a long time ago. Now you are within months of becoming a full-fledged Auror. This is not the time to get sloppy. You need to keep your head on straight."
"Yes, sir," Olivia said.
Moody gave her a hard look, and stalked away to bark at another Auror trainee. Olivia sighed, and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She wasn't thinking straight, and she knew the reason why. It was the same reason she hadn't been able to concentrate on anything since Remus and Laura's wedding.
She glanced across the room as Sirius accepted advice from Longbottom about how to refine his skills. She sighed again. She missed him – terribly. But she couldn't take him back. It just wouldn't work.
She needed desperately to talk to someone about the whole situation. But talking to Lily, Dana or Laura seemed silly – of course they would all want her to get back together with Sirius. She needed someone who would be on her side. But who could she talk to?
She smiled as the idea came to her, and glanced at her watch. Only an hour to go, and then she had a visit to make.
"Olivia!"
Olivia smiled sadly. "Hi, Mum."
"What are you doing here?" Mrs. Alexander hugged her daughter close. "It's wonderful to see you!" She pulled back, holding Olivia at arm's length. "You look pale, darling. Are you feeling all right?"
To her surprise, Olivia burst into tears.
"Olivia!" Mrs. Alexander exclaimed. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"
"Everything," Olivia sobbed as her mother pulled her close again. "Everything's wrong, Mummy."
Mrs. Alexander finally calmed her enough that she could talk sensibly, and led her to the table. She waved her wand, and mugs of tea appeared before each of them.
"Now," she said, "tell me what's happened."
"It's Sirius," Olivia managed to sigh before the tears began to fall again.
Mrs. Alexander's eyes narrowed. "What has he done to you?"
"Nothing," Olivia replied, brushing her tears away. "We broke up."
"Really?" Mrs. Alexander said, her eyebrows shooting up. "When?"
"At Remus and Laura's wedding," Olivia said. "We had been having problems for awhile, and everything sort of came crashing down that night."
"Olivia, I'm sorry that you're so upset," Mrs. Alexander said, reaching across to put her hand over Olivia's. "You know that I would do anything to take away your pain. But, darling, I think this is for the best. Sirius Black was trouble from the very beginning, and he's just not good enough for you."
"He's a good person, Mum," Olivia said tiredly. "He's just . . . In the end, we just couldn't make it work."
"Do you want to tell me what happened?"
"He didn't want to get married," she said simply.
"And you do?"
"Oh, yes," Olivia sighed. "I love him, Mum. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. But he said he's not ready – and I'm not ready to wait." Tears threatened to fall again. "I love him, but I can't be with him right now."
"Oh, Olivia," Mrs. Alexander sighed. "There are so many men who would love to marry you. There's no sense in saying that you love the one who won't."
"But I do love him, Mum."
"You left him, Olivia. Even if he did love you before – and I can't say that I trust that he did – there's no way he will anymore."
"He did love me," Olivia said quickly, hot tears tracing patterns down her cheeks. "I know he loved me – and he may still! If he hadn't loved me, there's no way he would have . . ." She trailed off, and glared at her mother. "I came here for support, not to have to defend Sirius again. I know how you and Dad felt about him, but I thought maybe you could back off attacking him now that I've left him." She stood to her feet. "I'm sorry that I was wrong about that."
"Olivia, wait, sit down."
"No," Olivia said. "I've had enough."
She Disapparated, leaving her mother alone in the kitchen.
James shuffled stacks of parchment across his desk. Maybe if he started cleaning it, he could postpone the inevitable task of grading the fifth years' essays.
His fireplace sprang to life, and he looked up in surprise. This was an odd time for Lily to come to visit, and he knew she was the only one who knew his password.
To his surprise, Lily didn't appear in his grate. A thud sounded as someone reached his password barrier. He raised his eyebrows. Maybe Dumbledore was right – they did need all the extra security measures. He stood to his feet and picked up his wand, debating whether or not he should call for help.
"Blood hell!" came from the fireplace. "James! Are you in there? What's your bloody password?"
"Sirius?" James asked incredulously.
"Yes! Now give me the bloody password so I can get in!"
"How do I know you're really Sirius?" James asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Has Moody affected your brain? Of course I'm Sirius!"
"Answer this question for me – Who figured out Remus's condition?"
"Peter and I did, you prat. Now let me in!"
James put his wand back on his desk. "The password is February."
Sirius repeated the password, and appeared in the fireplace. He glared at James as he dusted off his robes.
"What kind of security is that? Anyone could figure that password out. Everyone knows you and Lily got married in February."
"You didn't figure it out. Besides, we change the passwords once a week," James replied. He sat down behind his desk again. "So, what brings you to Hogwarts today?"
"Olivia," Sirius said, sitting down across from James.
"Did you talk to her?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Sirius replied. "She won't even look at me in class. It's like I don't exist to her."
"Have you tried -?"
"Of course not," Sirius cut in. "I'm not about to go begging her to take me back. She's being ridiculous about this whole thing. If she would just realize that we're not ready to get married, we could get back together. But as long as she only wants to get married, we're stuck the way we are."
"So you're not willing to talk to her?"
"I am – if she's willing to talk to me."
James ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know what to tell you, Padfoot. Lily and I didn't have problems like this – and I don't think my other Hogwarts romances count as real 'couple' experience."
"Maybe that's my problem, too," Sirius sighed. "I want to be with her, Prongs, but I don't have a clue how to fix this."
"I say wait, then," James said. "There's no sense in try to talk to her if you don't know what to say."
"Yeah, I'll probably just end up making it worse," Sirius grinned. "I just never thought it would end this way, you know? I always sort of thought she was the girl for me."
"So did I," James admitted. "I guess it's like Lily always says about stuff like this – if it was meant to be, it'll happen."
"And if not?" Sirius asked.
"You have to learn to live without her."
"Is Lily Potter in?"
"She's in her office," the receptionist replied, jerking her head back to indicate Lily's closed office door. "Is she expecting you?"
Olivia smiled, and shook her head. "It's a surprise."
The receptionist looked at her dubiously. "Mrs. Potter doesn't receive unexpected visitors. Would you like to make an appointment to meet with her?"
"I just wanted to have lunch with her," Olivia said, feeling a bit annoyed.
"You wanted a lunch meeting, then?" the receptionist asked, pulling out a date book.
"No!" Olivia exclaimed. "I'm a friend of Lily's! I just wanted to see if she had time for lunch today!"
Lily's office door opened, and she walked out. A smile lit her face when she saw Olivia.
"Liv! What brings you over here?"
"You know her, Mrs. Potter?" the receptionist asked.
"Yes, Olivia is one of my best friends," Lily affirmed. "From now on, please give her the same access as James, Sirius, Remus and Laura." She glanced at her watch. "Did you want to go get lunch?"
"I'd love to," Olivia replied.
"Just let me get my purse," Lily said. She walked back into her office for the bag, and then knocked on Minnie's door. She pushed it open without waiting for a reply, and stuck her head in the room.
"Hey," Minnie greeted her.
"I'm going to grab lunch," Lily said. "Olivia's here, so we're going out somewhere in the area. Do you want to come?"
"No, I'm going to stay here to work on something," Minnie replied distractedly.
"Can I bring you something, then?"
"No, I'm fine . . ." She looked up from her desk with an odd expression on her face. "Just hurry back, all right? I really need to discuss something with you."
"Do you want to talk now?"
"No, it can wait . . . just hurry."
Lily nodded. "I'll see you within an hour. Tell Dorcas where I am if she asks."
"Sure."
Lily looked at her friend again, then backed out of her office, closing the door behind her. She was still wearing a puzzled expression when she made it back to Olivia.
"Everything all right?" Olivia asked.
"Aside from that being the oddest conversation Minnie and I have ever had, yes," Lily replied.
Olivia grinned. "And knowing the two of you, that's saying something."
Lily laughed. "I guess I'll have to allow that one." She turned to the receptionist. "I'll be out for about an hour. Minnie already knows."
The woman nodded. "See you in an hour, then."
Olivia followed Lily through the maze of hallways leading away from her office. When she thought they were far enough away, she giggled.
"What's with the security dog?"
"Oh, Peg's harmless," Lily smiled. "She gives all our visitors a hard time. Because of our work, we have to be careful about who comes into the office – especially now, when Minnie and I are working on all the Death Eater stuff. Peg has a list of people for each of us who are allowed in without question."
"And yours is just the guys and Laura?"
"Well, they're the only ones who ever visit me at work. James was on the list from day one, of course. Laura went on quickly, too, since I see her here all the time. She's always in giving statements from her office. Remus and Sirius had to go through the same thing you did."
Despite her best attempts not to show emotion, Olivia's face changed when she heard Sirius's name. Lily noticed in an instant.
"Olivia, why can't you just go talk to him?"
"I can't, Lils."
"What do you mean? Of course you can!"
"What good will it do? What will it change?"
They made their way back to street level. Lily led Olivia across the street to her favorite café. The girls were seated quickly, and placed their orders.
"Now," Lily said, folding her hands in front of her on the table, "you are going to tell me exactly what's going on with you and Sirius. And don't even try to tell me that's not the reason you came to have lunch with me today. We both know that you need to talk, and we both know that I'm going to listen."
Olivia smiled. "How do you know me so well?"
"Being friends for nearly a decade will do that for you," Lily smiled. "Please, Liv, tell me what's going on. Let me help you, if I can."
"All right," Olivia said slowly. "But before I start, I need you to promise me something."
"Anything."
"Please try to be as impartial as possible."
"Liv, you know –"
"I know that you're one of my best friends, yes," Olivia interrupted. "I know that you are always there for me, and that you always support me. But I also know that Sirius is another of your best friends. I know that he and James are closer than brothers. I know that it's going to be very hard for you, because you want us back together. You want us to be happy like you and James." She sighed. "But we aren't you and James."
"I know that, sweetie. I don't expect you and Sirius to be the same as James and I. You are very different people from us."
"Exactly," Olivia replied. She drew a deep breath. "Well, you know that we're broken up. And you know that that was my decision."
Lily shook her head. "I still can't believe that you did that."
"Why not?"
"Because before the wedding, you were talking about wanting to marry him, and after the wedding, it was over between you. I just don't understand how you can go from wanting to marry someone to not even wanting to date him."
"I still want to marry him, Lils," Olivia said softly.
Lily's eyes widened. "What?"
"I love him," Olivia said, smiling sadly. "Sounds stupid, doesn't it? I love him and I want to marry him, yet I broke up with him."
"Liv, why? Why on earth would you put yourself and Sirius through all this if you still love him?"
"Because he doesn't want to marry me," she said simply.
"Ever?"
"No," she said slowly, "no, he said just not yet."
Lily looked at her for a moment. "Wait. Let me make sure I've got all this. You love Sirius. You want to marry Sirius. Sirius wants to marry you – just not yet. But, sometime in the future, he's all for marrying you. Yet you still broke up with him?"
"Yeah, that's pretty much it."
"Well, you're going to have to forgive me for being a bit confused."
Olivia gave her an accusatory look. "You're taking his side."
"No, I'm taking your relationship's side," Lily argued. "Liv, can you honestly tell me that you can see yourself marrying someone else?"
To Lily's surprise, Olivia's eyes filled with tears. "I love Sirius, Lily. No, of course I can't see myself marrying anyone else. And I know that he loves me – at least, I think he does. But we just can't be together right now."
"Liv, you're both miserable! Why don't you just try to talk this out? I'm sure you can make it right!"
Olivia shook her head, letting a single tear fall. "Right now, we can't. Maybe someday . . . I just can't do it now, Lils. I'm not going to change my mind about this, and I don't think he's going to change his."
"But if he's the one you want to marry, can't you just date him until he's ready?"
"The ball is in his court now. He knows what I want. He has to come to me to fix this."
Lily shook her head. "You and Sirius are the two most stubborn people I know. No wonder you fell in love."
Olivia smiled sadly. "No wonder indeed."
Exactly one hour later, Lily rushed into Minnie's office. She dropped down into a chair, and brushed her long, red hair back from her face.
"Sorry that took so long," she said a bit breathlessly. "Liv is in a bit of a crisis."
"That's fine," Minnie replied. She waved her wand to close the door. "Lil, we need to talk."
"About what?"
"Rodolphus Lestrange."
Lily frowned. "What about him?"
Minnie drew a deep breath. "I've been looking over our research, and I don't think we have enough to prove that he's a Death Eater."
"What?" Lily cried. "But after all the research, all the interviews – we did it all for nothing?"
"I wouldn't say that."
"What?"
"I think we still can prove it."
"How? You just said . . ." Lily frowned.
"I know. But I've thought of a way to prove it. I want us to track him. I want him to lead us to a Death Eater meeting."
Lily gasped. "You want us to go to a Death Eater meeting?"
"We'll go undercover," Minnie affirmed. "What better way is there to collect information?"
"Yeah, it's going to be informative, but it's incredibly dangerous!" Lily said. "Min, do you have any idea what we'd be getting ourselves into? If we're discovered, we won't just be up against some Death Eaters, we'll be fighting Voldemort."
"I know," Minnie said. "But, Lil, this is the best way for us to do our job!"
Lily shook her head. "I don't know. Is this job work risking our lives?"
"The job?" Minnie repeated. "No, it's not. But defeating them is, isn't it? Isn't that what you do every day with the Order of the Phoenix?"
Lily looked at her for a long minute. "You're right. It is what I do. But, Minnie, I never wanted to drag you into that. It was my decision to join, and it's my life that I risk. I can't risk yours, too."
Minnie shrugged. "It's too late now," she said simply. "You're not dragging me or forcing me, Lils, this is something I want to do." She shrugged. "So, what do you say? Shall we do it?"
Lily realized exactly how serious her friend was. Minnie understood the risks, and was willing to take them. Lily slowly nodded. "Let's do it."
Minnie's face lit up. "Really? You want to do it?"
"I do," Lily said with determination. "If we can make this work, we'll be able to save so many lives. Because if we go in there, Minnie, we're taking out far more than just Rodolphus Lestrange."
A hint of fear crept into Minnie's eyes. "What do you want us to do, Lily?"
"I want to destroy them," Lily said simply. "I want to destroy them before they can do to anyone else's family what they did to mine."
"Lil, I don't think . . ."
"Not then," Lily said quickly. "I don't want the two of us to wage war on them while we're there. But I want to be able to take enough information back to the Order that we'll be able to end this once and for all." She sat up straighter in her chair. "Where shall we begin?"
"We need to put a tracking charm on Lestrange," Minnie said. "You've always been better at Charms than me; will you do it?"
"Of course," Lily replied. She frowned slightly, and looked off into space, searching her memory for the appropriate charm. "We're going to need something pretty powerful, though. Who knows where he'll go?" She tapped her fingertip against her lips. "We need . . . we need . . ." Her face suddenly lit up as she remembered lines spreading like spider webs across a piece of parchment. "I'll be right back!" She sprang out of her seat.
"Where are you going?" Minnie cried.
"To get help from the master!" Lily flung over her shoulder as she ran back to her own office.
She threw open the bottom drawer of her desk, and picked up a small bag. She grabbed a handful of power from the bag, and threw it into her fireplace.
"James Potter's office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
"We'll get our essays back tomorrow, right?"
James smiled patiently. "Yes, Nicole, I'll have them ready tomorrow."
"I'm sorry to bother you, Professor, but this our OWL year, and I want to make sure that my essay is at least at that level. You do grade them at OWL level, don't you?"
"I have since the first day of class," James replied. "And when have I not given you an essay back the next day?"
"You always do," Nicole smiled. "But I worry . . . I really would feel better if I knew my grade."
"Your work is always excellent," James said. "I'm sure this essay won't be any different." He glanced at his watch. "You'd better hurry, or you'll be late for your next lesson."
"Can I come back later today to see if you have my essay done?"
James laughed. "Sure. I'll mark yours first."
She grinned. "Thanks, Professor Potter!"
"You're welcome," James replied, opening the door to his office.
Nicole rushed off to her next class, clutching her stack of books. James turned, and stepped into his office.
He stopped short, and a slow smile spread across his face as he saw the person sitting behind his desk. He stepped closer, putting his books down on a shelf as he crossed the room.
"Well, well," he smiled. "What brings you over this way?"
Lily smiled. "Would you believe that I just wanted to see you?"
"I'd like to," James said, leaning down to kiss her. "However, common sense intervenes. You would never leave work in the middle of the day without a good reason. So, what might that reason be?"
"Well," Lily smiled, "I needed a criminal mastermind, and you were the first person I thought of."
"Hey, now," James laughed, "whatever you may have heard, I gave it up when I became a professor."
"But, I'm sure there are still things you remember how to do."
"Such as?"
"I can remember seeing a certain map . . ." Lily said slowly
"Lil, Filch confiscated that map. I wish I could show it to you again, but I don't have it, and there's no way for me to get it, unless I want to lose my job."
"I don't want that map," Lily replied. "I want you to teach me how to do tracking charms like the ones you used to make it."
James raised an eyebrow. "What do you need a charm like that for?"
"Minnie and I want to track Rodolphus Lestrange," Lily replied.
"Why do you need to track him?"
"We want him to lead us to the Death Eaters so we can uncover more information."
"Are you two insane?" James exclaimed. "You can't do that! Do you realize how dangerous that is?"
"Yes," Lily said evenly, looking James straight in the eye. "I've fought every battle with you, James. I know what this means. But, by doing this, I can make sure that no one else has to battle this evil ever again. Please, James, help me. Teach me how to do this."
James drew a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, running his hand through his hair. "All right," he said slowly. "I'll teach you, but I have a condition."
"Name it," Lily said with a gleeful smile.
"When you go in there, I'm going with you."
"What?" Lily cried. "No way, James. I'm not letting you –"
"Risk my life?" James finished. "What makes you think I want to let you risk yours? You said it yourself, Lil – we've fought every battle together. We're not going to stop now."
Lily looked deeply into his eyes. "All right," she said at last. "If I'm going to do this, I want you there beside me."
"Good," James smiled. He kissed her. "We have a deal?"
"We have a deal," she smiled, reaching up to kiss him again.
"And we're ready for action," Lily said as she walked into Minnie's office the next morning.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Minnie asked, putting down her mug of coffee.
Lily laid a piece of parchment on her friend's desk. "This will show us where Rodolphus Lestrange is at any point in time, and tell us where that is, as well as identify those around him. It's password protected, so not just anyone can use it."
Minnie looked from the parchment to Lily in disbelieve. "Are you making this up as you go along?"
Lily smiled. "Watch." She took out her wand, and touched the parchment with it. "I solemnly swear that I want to destroy Voldemort."
"That's the password?"
"Yes."
"So we have to say his name?" Minnie had become accustomed to hearing Lily use the name, but wasn't quite comfortable with using it herself.
"Cuts down the number of people who will figure it out, doesn't it?" Lily smiled. "Watch this – it's the best part!"
Ink lines spread across the top of the parchment, and formed themselves into the words "The Daily Prophet Offices." Tiny dots appeared, each labeled with a name. Lily's eyes swept across the parchment until they fell on the red dot.
"There he is," she said, touching the parchment. "He's right in his office."
Minnie raised eyes the size of saucers to meet Lily's. "This is bloody brilliant! How did you do it? I've never seen anything like this before!"
Lily grinned. "Well, I must confess, I had some help. It's actually a more sophisticated version of a map of Hogwarts that James, Sirius, Remus and Peter made while we were in school."
"They made something like this at Hogwarts?"
"Yeah, but it only showed the castle and the grounds. This will change location with Rodolphus, and let us know where he is at all times."
Minnie shook her head. "Those four were far too intelligent for their own good."
"You don't know the half of it," Lily muttered, seeing in her mind's eye three boys transform into animals in a dormitory. "I did have to make a deal with James to get him to agree to help me with this, though."
"Do I even want to know?" Minnie grinned.
"No, it's nothing like that," Lily laughed. "I just had to promise that he could come to the Death Eater meeting with us."
Minnie's eyebrows shot up. "You told him?"
"He wanted to know why I need this map," Lily said. "When I told him, he pretty much went crazy – he said he wasn't letting me do this without him. And he had a point – I wouldn't let him do this without me, either."
Minnie sighed. "Well, I guess I need to tell Adam, then – you know, extend the invitation for him to come along, too. If he finds out about this, and that James went and I never told him, he'll kill me."
A knock sounded on the door. Lily grabbed her wand, and touched it to the parchment again.
"Destruction planned!"
Minnie shook her head in amazement as the lines of the map disappeared. "Come in!"
The door opened, and Dorcas stepped into the office.
"Good, you're both here," she said, closing the door behind her. "I've just received intelligence suggesting that the next Death Eater meeting will be tonight or tomorrow, if you're still up for some undercover work. I didn't get the location, though, so you'll have to find that out somehow."
"We're on it," Lily replied.
"You still want to do it, then?" Dorcas asked, looking back and forth between them. "This is very serious, girls, and I don't want to force you into it . . ."
Lily and Minnie exchanged a glance, and nodded.
"We'll be there."
James, Lily, Minnie and Adam sat at the Potters' kitchen table. They each had a cup of tea, which they occasionally took absent-minded sips from. All four of them had centered their attention on the piece of parchment in the middle of the table.
"How long can he stay in that house with Bella?" James asked, scrunching up his face. "I could barely handle the amount of her that I saw in a day at Hogwarts, and he actually married her?"
"You should like Sirius," Lily smiled.
"He'd be glad to hear it," James grinned.
"Someone else is coming in!" Adam exclaimed. He leaned over to read the names next to the new dot. "Barty Crouch? As in the Head of Magical Law Enforcement?"
"It can't be," Minnie said, leaning closer. "Could the map be wrong?"
"No chance," James said firmly. "The map doesn't have the ability to lie. It can't show anything other than what's there."
"Then how -?"
"They're gone!" Adam exclaimed, cutting Minnie off.
Immediately after the three dots had disappeared, the map wiped itself blank. A moment passed, and then it began to redraw itself. This time, it showed a ballroom of an abandoned house. Almost innumerable names began to appear, forming a circle.
"We couldn't read all of these if we tried," Adam said.
"We only need two, and they're color-coded," James replied. "The red – it's right there – is Lestrange. And the green . . ."
"Is Voldemort," Lily finished, touching the green ink. She shivered slightly, and pulled her hand back.
"That's all we need," James said as a new dot labeled "Peter Pettigrew" appeared. Without noticing it, he touched the parchment with his wand. "Destruction planned!"
The map instantly went blank. The names of all the Death Eaters were now invisible.
"Everyone ready?" Minnie asked.
All four wore equal looks of determination as they nodded at one another. They took out their wands in preparation for their arrival in the ballroom.
"Let's do it," Minnie said.
With four pops, they Disapparated.
They Apparated just outside the ballroom. Sounds of various pops and cracks met their ears as the Death Eaters continued to Apparate into the meeting.
"Well, we haven't missed anything yet," James said. "Let's get inside now, while everyone's still grouping up. That way no one will notice us."
"When you get inside, stay close to the wall," Lily added. She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head to hide her bright red hair. "Ready?"
"Let's go," James said, pulling up his own hood.
With one last nod, they entered the ballroom. James had been right; confusion still reined inside. The Death Eaters were robed and masked; it would be impossible to identify them. James and Lily went to one side of the room, while Adam and Minnie went to the other. They pressed themselves against the walls as they crept through the room, trying to find Rodolphus, or to hear anyone else referred to by name.
The Death Eaters completed their circle, and James, Lily, Adam and Minnie crouched down, trying to avoid being seen. An eerie silence fell, only to be broken by a high-pitched voice.
"My friends," Voldemort said softly, "welcome. There are plans to be made tonight, plans that will bring those who are against us to their knees. It is only a matter of time until the Ministry will be begging us for mercy, and I will be the one in control of our world."
A murmur of assent ran throughout the room. Lily felt her heart pounded in her chest, and prayed that no one else could hear it.
"But how very foolish of me," Voldemort continued, "to begin our meeting before welcoming our guests."
Lily gasped as an invisible forced pulled her to the center of the circle. She willed herself to remain calm as she looked at James, Adam and Minnie, who were all standing with her. She glanced past them to the Death Eaters, wondering if their eyes really were glinting maniacally behind their masks, or if that was just a figment of her imagination. She and her friends were standing in the middle of a circle of people who were united against them.
Horror filled Peter's being as he looked at the captives in the middle of the room. What were they doing in the meeting? Didn't they know how dangerous it was? Why did James always have to know everything, to get in the middle of everything? Couldn't he just take his orders from Dumbledore and be happy with it?
Voldemort surveyed the four young adults with mounting dislike. "How very foolish of you," he hissed, "to assume you could be in this room without me knowing it. Has our past together taught you Potters nothing? Have you not learned that I am always aware of what is happening around me?" He gave them a twisted smile. "Well, I assume you are here representing Dumbledore and his followers. Let's see what he has taught you!"
Another invisible force made them all stumble backwards. They all managed to stay on their feet, amid the jeers of the Death Eaters. Invisible ropes bound their hands and feet together, holding them in place. James tightened his grip on his wand.
"Let them go," James said firmly. "They aren't the ones that you want. They don't have anything to do with this, and they don't answer to Dumbledore. It's Lily and I that you want. We'll stay and fight, but let Adam and Minnie go."
Peter's heart hammered in his chest. What was James doing? Was he trying to get himself and Lily killed? Why was he seeking a battle with the Dark Lord and a roomful of Death Eaters?
"No," Adam said at once, his voice every bit as firm as James's. "We're not leaving without James and Lily."
"Gryffindors," Voldemort said softly. "Always so brave. Always so loyal to their friends. Always so selfless. Very well. You have made your choice. None of you will leave tonight without my special . . . blessing. But I will allow you the dignity of dying like Gryffindors." He waved his hand, and they were freed from the force binding them.
James looked at Lily, his face full of determination. "Shall we give it one more go, then?"
She nodded, and gripped her wand tightly. "I love you, James."
"I love you, too."
Lily turned, and pointed her wand directly at Voldemort. "Reducto!"
Voldemort raised his wand, sending her curse into a wall. "I expected better of you, Lily. Perhaps marriage has made you weak. Crucio!"
"Protego!"
The curse rebounded off Lily's Shield Charm, and struck a Death Eater, who screamed in pain. James picked up the battle, and hurled another curse at Voldemort, who deflected it.
"Do what you like with the other two," he hissed. "Leave the Potters to me!"
The battle began in earnest, with Death Eaters attacking the four young adults from all sides. Peter backed up against a wall, watching in horror as his friends fought for their lives. He clutched his head, trying desperately to decide what he should do. Should he help his friends, and risk exposing himself? Or should he remain still, and protect them from the knowledge that he was a Death Eater?
"Imperio!"
Peter gasped as he watched James's face go blank. "Fight it, James," he whispered. "I know you can! Fight it!"
The battle came to a standstill as all eyes turned to James. Peter tore his eyes from his friend for a moment to look at the others. Adam and Minnie had been tied up again. Lily was still standing, but a Death Eater held her firmly in place. Judging by the look in her eyes, it was only a matter of time before she tried to break free.
"Kill Lily, James," Voldemort said lazily.
James obediently turned to face Lily. Peter gasped again. Surely James wouldn't . . .?
"Kill her," Voldemort hissed.
"James," Lily begged. "James, please! Can you hear me? I love you, James. I love you, and you love me! Please, James!"
"Kill her!" Voldemort yelled.
James raised his wand, and pointed it at her.
"JAMES!" she screamed. "JAMES, IT'S ME! PLEASE, LOVE, LISTEN TO ME!"
"KILL HER!"
"JAMES!"
"NO!" James shook his head, and his eyes came back into focus. He rounded on Voldemort. "Crucio!"
Taken by surprise, Voldemort didn't have time to deflect the curse. He screamed in pain as it hit him. The Death Eater holding Lily released her in shock as he watched his master falling victim to the curse.
"Lil, get Adam and Minnie!" James yelled.
Lily raced toward her friends, shouting curses at the Death Eaters who tried to block her path. She freed Adam and Minnie, and looked around wildly.
"Disapparate!" she yelled. "Get out of here! James and I will be out soon, I promise!"
"Lils . . ."
"GO!" she screamed. She took off again, charging forward to help James in his battle with the Dark Lord. Two pops assured her that Adam and Minnie had followed her orders.
James looked at Lily as she approached. "On three," he said. "One . . . two . . . three . . ."
"CRUCIO!" they both yelled.
Voldemort screamed in pain, and a round of cracks filled the room.
"STUPEFY!"
James and Lily both stopped as the Aurors took over the battle with the Death Eaters. Voldemort took advantage of their dropped guard, and gave them his twisted smile.
"We're not through," he hissed. "And we won't be until I've killed you both!"
"I'd like to see you try," James sneered.
Voldemort smiled again, and Disapparated. Lily looked at James helplessly.
"We let him escape again!"
"But look at those we've caught," James replied, indicating the Death Eaters who were being arrested. He pulled Lily close, and kissed her temple. "Let's go home."
She nodded, and they Disapparated. Peter breathed a sigh of relief, then he, too, Disapparated.
Adam and Minnie were pacing back and forth in the Potters' living room when James and Lily arrived. As soon as she saw them, Minnie gave a strangled cry, and flung herself at Lily. Lily held her close, clinging to Minnie as much as Minnie was clinging to her.
"We're all right," Lily said softly. "We're all right."
"I was so scared!" Minnie exclaimed, pulling back enough to look into Lily's face. "I never knew – I never thought . . . You do things like that all the time, don't you?"
"Well, maybe not exactly like that, but similar," James said, sitting down on the couch. He closed his eyes, then opened them again. "Are you two all right?"
"Yeah," Adam said, sitting down next to him. "But we didn't take nearly as much as the two of you did. Did the Aurors get there in time?"
James nodded. "You sent them?"
Adam nodded. "All Ministry employees now have emergency access to the Auror department. That's where we went first."
Minnie shuddered. "I can't believe people do things like that as a career."
"Some of us do it out of a sense of duty,' James said softly.
Minnie sat down, shaking her head. "I will never understand how you find the strength to do it, but . . . thank you."
Lily and James looked at her blankly. "What?" they asked in unison.
Tears filled her eyes. "You do things like that – fight like that and risk your lives like that – to save our world. So thank you – thank you for all that you do to help all of us."
Lily and James nodded. No words seemed adequate.
Adam rose to his feet. "Will you be all right?"
"Yeah, we're fine," James said.
Adam nodded. "Let's go home, Min."
She nodded, and gave Lily another fierce hug. Then, with two pops, they were gone.
James smiled at Lily. "And so we've cheated death once again."
She gave him a half-hearted smile and nodded.
"What's wrong, love?"
Lily drew a shaky breath. "That's three times, James. Three times that we've faced him and lived, and three times that he's gotten away. What happens next time? When will this end?"
James crossed the room, and pulled her close. "Don't think like that," he said. "Be happy that we're alive, and that we've lived to fight another day. We can't think about the 'what ifs.' We have to live –"
"Like there's no tomorrow," Lily finished, tipping her head back to smile at him. "So I've heard before."
James smiled, and leaned down to kiss her. "Thank God we made it," he whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without you. When I think about what he tried to make me do to you . . . You know I love you, don't you?"
"I know," she replied. "And I knew you'd never do it. I knew you would be able to break through his control." She smiled. "I love you, too, James. So much."
He smiled, and kissed her again.