A/N: Thank you to those of you who reviewed, I truly appreciate reading
what you have to say about my story.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognized I do not own.
Chapter 3 ~ Terror in the Ministry
"What happened?" She asked to a maid that ran by her.
"Oh Miss." The maid wailed and ran toward the kitchens.
Footmen ran from one place to another, maids sobbed into their aprons and for the first time in their lives, Mrs. Nichols and Mr. Roberts had no control over the staff.
Lily looked around, trying to find someone to tell her what was going on. She finally approached Mr. Roberts who was trying to direct his staff and calm down a group of maids who were quietly sobbing.
"Roberts, what happened? Why is everybody so upset?" Lily asked.
Roberts sighed, it seemed that he was trying to get his edgy nerves in control. "There was an attack in London Miss, Master James apparated to the Ministry and Mistress Susan was taken to her room, she was really upset." He finally said.
"Oh dear." Lily exclaimed. "Do you know what really happened?"
"No Miss, all we were told was that the Ministry was attacked." Roberts said.
Lily gasped. The Ministry was attacked?
"Excuse me Miss." Roberts said and ran to lead the sobbing maids to the kitchen.
Lily ran up to the nursery to check on the twins, with the house in disarray there was probably nobody who would pay attention to the girls. She found them sound asleep in their rooms, the Nurse keeping an eye on them.
Lily quietly left the room and decided to go to Mrs. Potter's room and see if she was doing better.
Minnie opened the door when Lily knocked.
"Oh Miss Lily." Minnie exclaimed.
"Hello Minnie, how is Mrs. Potter? Is she doing better?" Lily asked.
"She is sleeping Miss Lily. Minnie gave her a sleeping potion to calm Mistress Susan down." Minnie replied.
"Oh dear, she must have been very upset. I will be in the library Minnie, if something happens let me know." Lily replied.
"Yes Miss Lily, Minnie will look for Miss if Mistress Susan wants her." Minnie said with a nod and closed the door.
Lily wished she could go to her room and stay there, but with Mrs. Potter asleep and James gone, there was nobody who could attend to the needs of the house, it seemed that it would fall upon her to take care of the staff.
Lily told Roberts where to find her if needed as she went to the library, housed in the west wing.
The library was a large room. Shelves filled with books lining every wall from floor to ceiling. Two large windows on one wall, in front of which, a large desk stood with papers properly arranged. On top of the windows was a gallery that surrounded the whole perimeter of the room. A set of stairs led to it and Lily could see that more books lined the wall, along with small lamps lighting the gallery. Large and sturdy couches and chairs were placed at one side of the room. Floor lamps were placed at every corner of the room. It was clearly a masculine atmosphere, no feminine touches were seen throughout the room.
Lily looked around the shelves and spent her time looking around and losing herself in the books she found.
She didn't notice when the door opened and quietly closed.
She was sitting on the large chair behind the desk, the light coming through the windows lighting her book. She hadn't noticed that darkness was falling until the lamp that stood on the desk turned on. She jumped and look around. It was then that she noticed that she was no longer alone.
"You are going to ruin your eyesight if you read in the dark." Said James with a small smile. Lily laughed. "Mother always said that." Her expression quickly changed. "James, what happened, was the Ministry really attacked?" She asked apprehensively.
James sighed and a sad expression fell over his face. "Yes, the whole square is ruined Lily. The houses were completely destroyed and everybody inside were killed. I had fifteen people in our London house Lily, all of them are dead." He exclaimed. His eyes were bright and Lily saw that he was trying to hold his tears.
"I'm sorry James." Was all she could say. She left the book on the desk and left her seat. She went round the desk and hugged him.
He hugged her back. He liked the feeling of her back in his arms. He had missed it for so long.
They held each other for a few minutes. James was the one who broke the embrace.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"There is nothing that you should be sorry about." She said.
"How am I going to tell my staff that their relatives were killed? How am I going to face Roberts and tell him that his daughter was among the dead?" He said.
Lily gasped. "Was it him? Was it Voldemort?" She asked.
James nodded.
"The park is completely destroyed, muggles were in that park Lily, muggles died just because they were there. The Ministry is in complete disarray, many of its officers were killed, but it's the only building that was left standing. The houses are just rubble. Nobody survived. Whole families Lily, whole families destroyed in a matter of minutes." He whispered.
Silent tears slid down Lily's face.
"What will happen now?" She asked.
James turned to look at her. He took out his handkerchief and silently dried her tears. She smiled at him.
"We have to wait and see. Sirius was here when the news came, he apparated to Hogsmeade, he will get Dumbledore, maybe he will have something to say. The Minister was injured, Lily, it is rumored that there is nothing that could be done for him and that he is dying. I don't know if it's true or not, I don't belong to the Ministry so I can't have that information, but Dumbledore will know, he will tell us if it's true. I don't know what will happen Lily. They attacked at the heart of our government, if it falls we are lost, there is no way that Voldemort will be defeated." James had started to pace. Lily stood watching him, what could she say? She didn't know how things stood and if things would get better.
"If it is true and the Minister dies, who will take charge of the Ministry?" Lily asked.
"Under usual circumstances, after the death of a Minister the advisors and the Heads of the department will convene and chose a Minister until election time arrives and the nominees are presented. But we are at war here Lily, there is no precedent for this. I assume that the advisors and the Heads will choose a temporary Minister until elections could be held. This is not the best time to hold elections." James responded as he continued pacing.
Lily looked down to the floor, he was starting to make her dizzy but didn't think now was the time to worry about it, the Magical World was in war and it would soon be time for grief.
The door slammed open. James stopped pacing and looked toward the door. Lily raised her head.
"James, I got there fine. Dumbledore is coming." Sirius panted.
James nodded.
"What news do you have, how bad was the damage?" Sirius asked.
"Completely destroyed Sirius. So far, the Ministry says there are more than 100 dead. St. Mungos was filled to capacity with wounded." James responded.
Sirius groaned and shook his head. "Hundreds of Ministry officials on duty and nothing could be done?"
"Nothing, the Enforcement Department lost half of its officers. Many of the offices in the lower floors were destroyed, the labs, the department offices, the waiting rooms, everything, if the building was not magical it would have come down and more dead would be reported, as it is, there are people trapped in the lower floors and nobody knows how many could've survived." James said in a hollow tone.
"Let us hope that things are not as bad as they seem." Said a voice from the door.
Sirius, James and Lily turned to look at the old man standing there, they all sighed with relief.
"Come in Professor." James said as he motioned Dumbledore into the room.
"How are you James, Lily? I see you are all looking fine." Dumbledore greeted them.
Lily approached and hugged her former employer, she had become quite fond of the old man.
"Hello my dear, don't worry, things cannot be any worse." Dumbledore said as he hugged Lily back.
James shook Dumbledore's hand and motioned him to take a seat in the comfortable chairs in the room.
"So tell me James, what did you find when you got there." Said Dumbledore.
For the next hour James described everything he had seen and heard. The approximate numbers of casualties, including muggles, the damage caused and how the Ministry was trying to explain what had happened to muggle police.
Roberts and Mrs. Nichols came in with refreshments and snacks for the group. They were obviously curious about news from London, but the sight of Hogwarts Headmaster made them feel safer and waited calmly for information.
Lily had asked for the kitchen to put dinner back for an hour. James, Sirius and Dumbledore stayed in the library, while she looked into the twins, who were now awake, and Mrs. Potter.
The Nurse and Lily decided that the twins would take dinner at the nursery at the usual hour. Lily didn't think that it would be comfortable for the girls with the tense atmosphere permeating the house.
Mrs. Potter was now awake, and sat calmly in her bed. Minnie allowed Lily into the room when she knocked on the door.
"There you are Lily, thank you for helping us during this time." Mrs. Potter said with a smile.
"Oh it's nothing Mrs. Potter, I'm glad to lend a hand." Lily said with a wave of her hand.
Mrs. Potter smiled. "Has James returned?" She asked.
Lily bit her lip. She nodded. But how much could she tell her.
Mrs. Potter sighed. "It's bad isn't it? A lot of damaged was caused." She said.
She didn't seem to require a response. Lily stayed quiet.
Mrs. Potter looked at her with sadness. "Tell him to see me before he goes to bed. I think I will stay in here tonight."
Lily nodded. "I will ask Mrs. Nichols to bring you a tray here." She said. "Professor Dumbledore will join us for dinner."
Mrs. Potter nodded.
Lily left her room. She was worried, she had never thought to see Mrs. Potter in that state. She decided to discuss with James the matter of the upcoming Fair, would they still participate in it, or would they have to postpone it.
Dinner was a grim affair. James had told Roberts to gather the staff after dinner. He wasn't looking forward to tell them the sad news.
Dumbledore would be returning to Hogwarts after dinner, the Ministry had already contacted him and he would soon be working hand in hand with them.
Sirius would be returning to London and make sure that his family was fine.
Lily had agreed to join James with the staff.
Sadness and grief permeated the air in the Potter household. It had been decided to keep going with the plans for the Fair, most of the town was muggle and they wouldn't understand why it would be postponed.
The Daily Prophet had a small article about the incident. The magical world was in terror. Nobody had been apprehended and it didn't seem like there would be any in the near future.
"Yesterday afternoon was like any other at Rowe Square. The Mansions surrounding Rowe Park where the wealthy families of our world lived stood proudly against the cloudy sky. The Park was full of muggle children and couples as it usually was. The Ministry offices were as busy as usual. Nobody thought that at the end of the day nothing would remain, only chaos and grief.
Dozens of masked, black robed individuals apparated in the middle of the square. In a matter of minutes the stately mansions were destroyed, muggles in the Park were killed, the lower floors of the Ministry laid in ruins and dozens of Ministry officers laid dead or injured.
None of the attackers were killed nor captured. It is thought to be the work of the group called the Death Eaters that had brought terror to our world in the last few years. Their leader, You-Know-Who, was not sighted, but the eyewitnesses interviewed could not be sure of that fact.
Reports that the Minister of Magic, Elyosius Brown, was fatally wounded were proven false. Many of those trapped in the destroyed floors of the Ministry were found alive. Most had time to perform a shielding charm around themselves, only a few casualties were found. All the inhabitants in the houses were killed, no survivors have been found so far. The Ministry has worked closely with Muggle enforcement units to explain the incident.
The staff of the Daily Prophet gives their condolences to the families and friends of those who were lost. We will bring you further news in the future."
The muggle newspapers also reported about the incident, but of course, it wasn't the whole truth. They were told that an electrical connection in the square, in the buildings around the park and in the park itself, had exploded, electrocuting everybody in the vicinity. For that reason, no injuries were found in the bodies.
Hundreds of owl inundated the Ministry for news and for the names of those killed. The Prophet decided to print the names of the list of casualties on an especial afternoon issue.
The Evans decided to go to Gryffindor Manor earlier than planned. For this reason, Lily was taken by surprise on the next day of the incident when her parents arrived at the manor without sending word.
After luncheon, Lily had taken the girls to the nursery for their afternoon nap. Mrs. Potter was still closeted in her room and James had gone to the Ministry with Sirius.
Lily was coming down the stairs after putting the girls to sleep when she noticed Roberts opening the door.
"Lily!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed and ran to hug her daughter.
"Mum? We weren't expecting you until later tomorrow evening." Lily said looking at her parents with surprised.
"Your mother decided that it was best if we came now. She read the news about the incident in Rowe Square, we had one of your friends to open a subscription of the Daily Prophet for us and have it delivered every morning." Said Mr. Evans as he followed his wife toward his daughter.
"Well, I'm glad to see you. Things have been hectic around here. Let me take you to the parlor so we can talk." Said Lily and led her parents toward the formal parlor, which was closer to the entrance than the family parlor.
The Evans silently followed her, looking around in awe as they went.
The house had been adorned in black that day, for respect for those who were lost on the previous day. Most of the servants that worked with the Potters had been born in the estate, their families having served the Potters for generations. It was a great loss to them all and everybody felt it, from the house elves to the master of the house. Fifteen people were lost in the London House, all their parents now worked or lived the Manor. Lily and James had gone early that morning to visit all the relatives of those lost and a memorial was scheduled to take place that evening in the family chapel. It had been closed for years but now seemed like the best time to reopen it. James was going to bring a wizard vicar with him at his return from his London visit.
The Evans listened in terror as Lily recounted the events of the previous day and thanked God that the Potters stayed in the country instead of their London house.
After staying with their daughter for a few moments they were led to their rooms by a footman. Lily stayed behind to prepare the chapel for the evening memorial.
Family members of each of the lost London staff had brought pictures of their loved ones to the house when word of the memorial was spread. Lily took these pictures and with a group of maids went to the chapel to clean and prepare.
The chapel had originally been built two hundred years ago. It was situated close to the lake in the Northwest side of the Manor, near the orchard. A small cemetery surrounded the back of the chapel, where generations of Potter were buried. In the beginning, a vicar lived in the estate and the family had their own services in the chapel. When the family started to work more closely with the town, the chapel was closed and the town church was used. The chapel was now only used for special occasions. It became customary that every Potter wedding took place in the estate chapel as well as every memorial and baptism.
It was an old looking church, arched glass stained windows and a large mural behind the altar. Sat nearly one hundred people.
Lily and the maids placed pictures of every single lost member of their household and surrounded the pictures with flowers, vases were arranged at the altar and the pews were waxed until they shined.
A few hours later they returned to the house to get prepared for the memorial and wait for James to arrive.
It was dusk when James finally apparated home. Lily and her parents waited patiently in the back parlor, servants and tenants alike waited in the kitchens, and Mrs. Potter was waiting in her room.
"Good afternoon master." Said Roberts as he took James' cloak.
"Afternoon Roberts, everything ready?" He asked.
"Yes, sir. Miss Lily and her parents are waiting in the back parlor and Mistress Susan is in her room." Roberts replied.
James nodded. "The vicar will arrive in half an hour, make sure that somebody helps him get to the chapel when he arrives." James said.
"Very will Sir." Roberts answered.
"I'll go and greet the Evans, then I'll go and get ready. Have Lotty wait for me in my room. I will only be a moment." James said as he walked toward the back parlor.
Roberts nodded and went toward the kitchens.
James stayed with the Evans only a few minutes before retiring to his room to change, Lotty, his personal elf, waited on him.
He was ready before the vicar arrived. Before he ventured down to lead his people to the chapel he first knocked on his mother's door. Minnie opened the door to let him in.
"Mother." He said as he saw his mother standing in the middle of the room waiting for him.
"Is everything ready James?" She asked.
"Yes mum, we are about to go to the chapel." He replied.
Mrs. Potter nodded and motioned for him to approach her. "Give me your arm James." She said and led him out of the room.
The service was short but especial to those who attended.
"Let us pray that our brethren are received into the light with open arms. They leave us without notice, but they will always be with us. As long as we live, their memory will survive." The vicar said at the end of the service.
Before the chapel was emptied, every person went to the altar with a flower and placed it on it. The pictures of those lost lined the steps of the altar. By the time everyone had stepped forward, the steps were littered with a colorful array of flowers.
A/N: When I first wrote this chapter it was mid September and events of the previous year affected me very deeply, that is how this chapter came about. I know it is a sad chapter and rather shorter than most of the my chapters, but I figured that the way we felt during that horrible time was the same way that the magical world felt during the time Voldemort was in power.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognized I do not own.
Chapter 3 ~ Terror in the Ministry
"What happened?" She asked to a maid that ran by her.
"Oh Miss." The maid wailed and ran toward the kitchens.
Footmen ran from one place to another, maids sobbed into their aprons and for the first time in their lives, Mrs. Nichols and Mr. Roberts had no control over the staff.
Lily looked around, trying to find someone to tell her what was going on. She finally approached Mr. Roberts who was trying to direct his staff and calm down a group of maids who were quietly sobbing.
"Roberts, what happened? Why is everybody so upset?" Lily asked.
Roberts sighed, it seemed that he was trying to get his edgy nerves in control. "There was an attack in London Miss, Master James apparated to the Ministry and Mistress Susan was taken to her room, she was really upset." He finally said.
"Oh dear." Lily exclaimed. "Do you know what really happened?"
"No Miss, all we were told was that the Ministry was attacked." Roberts said.
Lily gasped. The Ministry was attacked?
"Excuse me Miss." Roberts said and ran to lead the sobbing maids to the kitchen.
Lily ran up to the nursery to check on the twins, with the house in disarray there was probably nobody who would pay attention to the girls. She found them sound asleep in their rooms, the Nurse keeping an eye on them.
Lily quietly left the room and decided to go to Mrs. Potter's room and see if she was doing better.
Minnie opened the door when Lily knocked.
"Oh Miss Lily." Minnie exclaimed.
"Hello Minnie, how is Mrs. Potter? Is she doing better?" Lily asked.
"She is sleeping Miss Lily. Minnie gave her a sleeping potion to calm Mistress Susan down." Minnie replied.
"Oh dear, she must have been very upset. I will be in the library Minnie, if something happens let me know." Lily replied.
"Yes Miss Lily, Minnie will look for Miss if Mistress Susan wants her." Minnie said with a nod and closed the door.
Lily wished she could go to her room and stay there, but with Mrs. Potter asleep and James gone, there was nobody who could attend to the needs of the house, it seemed that it would fall upon her to take care of the staff.
Lily told Roberts where to find her if needed as she went to the library, housed in the west wing.
The library was a large room. Shelves filled with books lining every wall from floor to ceiling. Two large windows on one wall, in front of which, a large desk stood with papers properly arranged. On top of the windows was a gallery that surrounded the whole perimeter of the room. A set of stairs led to it and Lily could see that more books lined the wall, along with small lamps lighting the gallery. Large and sturdy couches and chairs were placed at one side of the room. Floor lamps were placed at every corner of the room. It was clearly a masculine atmosphere, no feminine touches were seen throughout the room.
Lily looked around the shelves and spent her time looking around and losing herself in the books she found.
She didn't notice when the door opened and quietly closed.
She was sitting on the large chair behind the desk, the light coming through the windows lighting her book. She hadn't noticed that darkness was falling until the lamp that stood on the desk turned on. She jumped and look around. It was then that she noticed that she was no longer alone.
"You are going to ruin your eyesight if you read in the dark." Said James with a small smile. Lily laughed. "Mother always said that." Her expression quickly changed. "James, what happened, was the Ministry really attacked?" She asked apprehensively.
James sighed and a sad expression fell over his face. "Yes, the whole square is ruined Lily. The houses were completely destroyed and everybody inside were killed. I had fifteen people in our London house Lily, all of them are dead." He exclaimed. His eyes were bright and Lily saw that he was trying to hold his tears.
"I'm sorry James." Was all she could say. She left the book on the desk and left her seat. She went round the desk and hugged him.
He hugged her back. He liked the feeling of her back in his arms. He had missed it for so long.
They held each other for a few minutes. James was the one who broke the embrace.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"There is nothing that you should be sorry about." She said.
"How am I going to tell my staff that their relatives were killed? How am I going to face Roberts and tell him that his daughter was among the dead?" He said.
Lily gasped. "Was it him? Was it Voldemort?" She asked.
James nodded.
"The park is completely destroyed, muggles were in that park Lily, muggles died just because they were there. The Ministry is in complete disarray, many of its officers were killed, but it's the only building that was left standing. The houses are just rubble. Nobody survived. Whole families Lily, whole families destroyed in a matter of minutes." He whispered.
Silent tears slid down Lily's face.
"What will happen now?" She asked.
James turned to look at her. He took out his handkerchief and silently dried her tears. She smiled at him.
"We have to wait and see. Sirius was here when the news came, he apparated to Hogsmeade, he will get Dumbledore, maybe he will have something to say. The Minister was injured, Lily, it is rumored that there is nothing that could be done for him and that he is dying. I don't know if it's true or not, I don't belong to the Ministry so I can't have that information, but Dumbledore will know, he will tell us if it's true. I don't know what will happen Lily. They attacked at the heart of our government, if it falls we are lost, there is no way that Voldemort will be defeated." James had started to pace. Lily stood watching him, what could she say? She didn't know how things stood and if things would get better.
"If it is true and the Minister dies, who will take charge of the Ministry?" Lily asked.
"Under usual circumstances, after the death of a Minister the advisors and the Heads of the department will convene and chose a Minister until election time arrives and the nominees are presented. But we are at war here Lily, there is no precedent for this. I assume that the advisors and the Heads will choose a temporary Minister until elections could be held. This is not the best time to hold elections." James responded as he continued pacing.
Lily looked down to the floor, he was starting to make her dizzy but didn't think now was the time to worry about it, the Magical World was in war and it would soon be time for grief.
The door slammed open. James stopped pacing and looked toward the door. Lily raised her head.
"James, I got there fine. Dumbledore is coming." Sirius panted.
James nodded.
"What news do you have, how bad was the damage?" Sirius asked.
"Completely destroyed Sirius. So far, the Ministry says there are more than 100 dead. St. Mungos was filled to capacity with wounded." James responded.
Sirius groaned and shook his head. "Hundreds of Ministry officials on duty and nothing could be done?"
"Nothing, the Enforcement Department lost half of its officers. Many of the offices in the lower floors were destroyed, the labs, the department offices, the waiting rooms, everything, if the building was not magical it would have come down and more dead would be reported, as it is, there are people trapped in the lower floors and nobody knows how many could've survived." James said in a hollow tone.
"Let us hope that things are not as bad as they seem." Said a voice from the door.
Sirius, James and Lily turned to look at the old man standing there, they all sighed with relief.
"Come in Professor." James said as he motioned Dumbledore into the room.
"How are you James, Lily? I see you are all looking fine." Dumbledore greeted them.
Lily approached and hugged her former employer, she had become quite fond of the old man.
"Hello my dear, don't worry, things cannot be any worse." Dumbledore said as he hugged Lily back.
James shook Dumbledore's hand and motioned him to take a seat in the comfortable chairs in the room.
"So tell me James, what did you find when you got there." Said Dumbledore.
For the next hour James described everything he had seen and heard. The approximate numbers of casualties, including muggles, the damage caused and how the Ministry was trying to explain what had happened to muggle police.
Roberts and Mrs. Nichols came in with refreshments and snacks for the group. They were obviously curious about news from London, but the sight of Hogwarts Headmaster made them feel safer and waited calmly for information.
Lily had asked for the kitchen to put dinner back for an hour. James, Sirius and Dumbledore stayed in the library, while she looked into the twins, who were now awake, and Mrs. Potter.
The Nurse and Lily decided that the twins would take dinner at the nursery at the usual hour. Lily didn't think that it would be comfortable for the girls with the tense atmosphere permeating the house.
Mrs. Potter was now awake, and sat calmly in her bed. Minnie allowed Lily into the room when she knocked on the door.
"There you are Lily, thank you for helping us during this time." Mrs. Potter said with a smile.
"Oh it's nothing Mrs. Potter, I'm glad to lend a hand." Lily said with a wave of her hand.
Mrs. Potter smiled. "Has James returned?" She asked.
Lily bit her lip. She nodded. But how much could she tell her.
Mrs. Potter sighed. "It's bad isn't it? A lot of damaged was caused." She said.
She didn't seem to require a response. Lily stayed quiet.
Mrs. Potter looked at her with sadness. "Tell him to see me before he goes to bed. I think I will stay in here tonight."
Lily nodded. "I will ask Mrs. Nichols to bring you a tray here." She said. "Professor Dumbledore will join us for dinner."
Mrs. Potter nodded.
Lily left her room. She was worried, she had never thought to see Mrs. Potter in that state. She decided to discuss with James the matter of the upcoming Fair, would they still participate in it, or would they have to postpone it.
Dinner was a grim affair. James had told Roberts to gather the staff after dinner. He wasn't looking forward to tell them the sad news.
Dumbledore would be returning to Hogwarts after dinner, the Ministry had already contacted him and he would soon be working hand in hand with them.
Sirius would be returning to London and make sure that his family was fine.
Lily had agreed to join James with the staff.
Sadness and grief permeated the air in the Potter household. It had been decided to keep going with the plans for the Fair, most of the town was muggle and they wouldn't understand why it would be postponed.
The Daily Prophet had a small article about the incident. The magical world was in terror. Nobody had been apprehended and it didn't seem like there would be any in the near future.
"Yesterday afternoon was like any other at Rowe Square. The Mansions surrounding Rowe Park where the wealthy families of our world lived stood proudly against the cloudy sky. The Park was full of muggle children and couples as it usually was. The Ministry offices were as busy as usual. Nobody thought that at the end of the day nothing would remain, only chaos and grief.
Dozens of masked, black robed individuals apparated in the middle of the square. In a matter of minutes the stately mansions were destroyed, muggles in the Park were killed, the lower floors of the Ministry laid in ruins and dozens of Ministry officers laid dead or injured.
None of the attackers were killed nor captured. It is thought to be the work of the group called the Death Eaters that had brought terror to our world in the last few years. Their leader, You-Know-Who, was not sighted, but the eyewitnesses interviewed could not be sure of that fact.
Reports that the Minister of Magic, Elyosius Brown, was fatally wounded were proven false. Many of those trapped in the destroyed floors of the Ministry were found alive. Most had time to perform a shielding charm around themselves, only a few casualties were found. All the inhabitants in the houses were killed, no survivors have been found so far. The Ministry has worked closely with Muggle enforcement units to explain the incident.
The staff of the Daily Prophet gives their condolences to the families and friends of those who were lost. We will bring you further news in the future."
The muggle newspapers also reported about the incident, but of course, it wasn't the whole truth. They were told that an electrical connection in the square, in the buildings around the park and in the park itself, had exploded, electrocuting everybody in the vicinity. For that reason, no injuries were found in the bodies.
Hundreds of owl inundated the Ministry for news and for the names of those killed. The Prophet decided to print the names of the list of casualties on an especial afternoon issue.
The Evans decided to go to Gryffindor Manor earlier than planned. For this reason, Lily was taken by surprise on the next day of the incident when her parents arrived at the manor without sending word.
After luncheon, Lily had taken the girls to the nursery for their afternoon nap. Mrs. Potter was still closeted in her room and James had gone to the Ministry with Sirius.
Lily was coming down the stairs after putting the girls to sleep when she noticed Roberts opening the door.
"Lily!" Mrs. Evans exclaimed and ran to hug her daughter.
"Mum? We weren't expecting you until later tomorrow evening." Lily said looking at her parents with surprised.
"Your mother decided that it was best if we came now. She read the news about the incident in Rowe Square, we had one of your friends to open a subscription of the Daily Prophet for us and have it delivered every morning." Said Mr. Evans as he followed his wife toward his daughter.
"Well, I'm glad to see you. Things have been hectic around here. Let me take you to the parlor so we can talk." Said Lily and led her parents toward the formal parlor, which was closer to the entrance than the family parlor.
The Evans silently followed her, looking around in awe as they went.
The house had been adorned in black that day, for respect for those who were lost on the previous day. Most of the servants that worked with the Potters had been born in the estate, their families having served the Potters for generations. It was a great loss to them all and everybody felt it, from the house elves to the master of the house. Fifteen people were lost in the London House, all their parents now worked or lived the Manor. Lily and James had gone early that morning to visit all the relatives of those lost and a memorial was scheduled to take place that evening in the family chapel. It had been closed for years but now seemed like the best time to reopen it. James was going to bring a wizard vicar with him at his return from his London visit.
The Evans listened in terror as Lily recounted the events of the previous day and thanked God that the Potters stayed in the country instead of their London house.
After staying with their daughter for a few moments they were led to their rooms by a footman. Lily stayed behind to prepare the chapel for the evening memorial.
Family members of each of the lost London staff had brought pictures of their loved ones to the house when word of the memorial was spread. Lily took these pictures and with a group of maids went to the chapel to clean and prepare.
The chapel had originally been built two hundred years ago. It was situated close to the lake in the Northwest side of the Manor, near the orchard. A small cemetery surrounded the back of the chapel, where generations of Potter were buried. In the beginning, a vicar lived in the estate and the family had their own services in the chapel. When the family started to work more closely with the town, the chapel was closed and the town church was used. The chapel was now only used for special occasions. It became customary that every Potter wedding took place in the estate chapel as well as every memorial and baptism.
It was an old looking church, arched glass stained windows and a large mural behind the altar. Sat nearly one hundred people.
Lily and the maids placed pictures of every single lost member of their household and surrounded the pictures with flowers, vases were arranged at the altar and the pews were waxed until they shined.
A few hours later they returned to the house to get prepared for the memorial and wait for James to arrive.
It was dusk when James finally apparated home. Lily and her parents waited patiently in the back parlor, servants and tenants alike waited in the kitchens, and Mrs. Potter was waiting in her room.
"Good afternoon master." Said Roberts as he took James' cloak.
"Afternoon Roberts, everything ready?" He asked.
"Yes, sir. Miss Lily and her parents are waiting in the back parlor and Mistress Susan is in her room." Roberts replied.
James nodded. "The vicar will arrive in half an hour, make sure that somebody helps him get to the chapel when he arrives." James said.
"Very will Sir." Roberts answered.
"I'll go and greet the Evans, then I'll go and get ready. Have Lotty wait for me in my room. I will only be a moment." James said as he walked toward the back parlor.
Roberts nodded and went toward the kitchens.
James stayed with the Evans only a few minutes before retiring to his room to change, Lotty, his personal elf, waited on him.
He was ready before the vicar arrived. Before he ventured down to lead his people to the chapel he first knocked on his mother's door. Minnie opened the door to let him in.
"Mother." He said as he saw his mother standing in the middle of the room waiting for him.
"Is everything ready James?" She asked.
"Yes mum, we are about to go to the chapel." He replied.
Mrs. Potter nodded and motioned for him to approach her. "Give me your arm James." She said and led him out of the room.
The service was short but especial to those who attended.
"Let us pray that our brethren are received into the light with open arms. They leave us without notice, but they will always be with us. As long as we live, their memory will survive." The vicar said at the end of the service.
Before the chapel was emptied, every person went to the altar with a flower and placed it on it. The pictures of those lost lined the steps of the altar. By the time everyone had stepped forward, the steps were littered with a colorful array of flowers.
A/N: When I first wrote this chapter it was mid September and events of the previous year affected me very deeply, that is how this chapter came about. I know it is a sad chapter and rather shorter than most of the my chapters, but I figured that the way we felt during that horrible time was the same way that the magical world felt during the time Voldemort was in power.