N/A: I'm sorry I haven't posted a new chapter for a while but
circumstances have made it really difficult for me to ready this chapter,
hopefully, with summer coming I will be able to do more.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter, they all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 6 ~ From the Ashes
The brigade of people worked late into the night to extinguish the flames that consumed the Manor, the structure seemed strong and there didn't seem any danger of the house being destroyed except for the damage that the fire caused in the main rooms of the ground floor.
The women of the village brought blankets and food for Lily and Harry, while James and Sirius worked doggedly with the others.
The House looked like a black tower, with the blackened walls and the open windows and doors charred from inside.
Eventually, the fire was under control and the flames were slowly extinguished.
Unfortunately, no news of Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Evans and the twins were found. Only a small number of the house-elves survived, many were killed inside the house.
Lily watched sadly as the flames died down and only smoke from the ashes could be seen.
The green mark above the house that had alerted all of what had happened had dissipated, with the help of various spells thrown by the Ministry Agents, it didn't help much for the moral of the volunteers to have it looming above them.
Lily didn't wail or screamed, only silent tears were seen running down her face. Harry slept peacefully in her arms, James and she had thought it better to let him under the spell's influence, there was nothing that he could do but cry.
As the fired died down and the people started to disperse among the grounds in search of further damage, James and Sirius approached Lily.
"Anything? Did you find something?" She asked as they sat by her.
James shook his head dejectedly from side to side. "No, we can't find them among this crowd, nor anyone who may have seen them."
"Oh, James! What if they are still there and they couldn't make it out?" Lily turned her tearstained face to him.
James kissed her lips tenderly. "If they are, I just hope that they killed them before they set fire to the house, I don't like the idea of them being burned alive."
Sirius didn't say it, but he feared that the Death Eaters would be quite capable of doing just that.
Professor Dumbledore joined them soon after. He looked sadly at the young couple with their sleeping infant and was saddened that after all they had gone through, that the Death Eaters had taken their last living relatives.
"When were you owled about this?" Asked Sirius when he noticed their old Professor standing by them.
"I got the warning this afternoon. I sent an owl to the Ministry as soon as I received it and came here, the Ministry agents joined me seconds after my arrival, but it was too late, the house was already on fire and some of the house-elves were making their way out of it." Dumbledore said.
"How did Minnie and Lotty get Harry out?" James asked.
"You know that the elves have their own brand of magic, but they can use it only for their duties and to help themselves, they can apparate and levitate on their own but not when humans that cannot do it on they own, muggles and magical children, but if they do it as a group, they can do it. Lotty and Minnie combined their magic to get Harry out of the house and hid in the orchard. They came to me when they saw me, and the Ministry agents. They had a hard time trying to keep Harry quiet and stay hidden." Dumbledore reported.
"He was scared." Lily said as she looked down at her son.
"I would be too. To be abruptly taken from my home. He probably sensed there was trouble." James said.
Dumbledore nodded. "He probably did. Children have an acute sense of perception that most of us lose as we get older."
"What will happen now? We cannot stay here." James said.
"I doubt they will return for the next months, they know that the Ministry will make an investigation and agents will be surrounding the area. For now, you are safe, but I think it will be better for you to return to London as soon as you can make arrangements, we will make further decisions then." Dumbledore said.
James nodded while Lily looked sadly at the smoking house.
"We can stay in the Dower House for now, while search for the ladies and the twins is finished. Then we can move to London." Sirius said.
Night had fallen, and work still continued. The smoldering remains were slowly cleared and order was eventually restored.
James had taken Lily to the Dower House to care for Harry and to rest before returning to help with the work. But Lily couldn't rest at all.
She had lifted the spell from Harry, who had cried nonstop for a few minutes before eventually falling silent in his mother's arms. Lily looked down at him with sorrow and relief. She felt sorrow that she had lost her mother and mother-in-law along with the twins at the end of what had started to be a wonderful day, and relief, that she hadn't lost her son as well. That made her feel guilty as well, but she couldn't help feeling happy that her son had been spared.
"Oh Harry!" She sobbed as she watched her son falling asleep in her arms. "What are we to do now?"
She was sitting in one of the unused bedrooms, she had left her mother's and Mrs. Potter's as they had left them, in case good news could be found even in if everybody said that it was impossible.
She looked out the window and saw the Manor House in the distance. The charred façade was dark, only the outline of the house against the full moon could be seen in the distance. It was strange to see the edifice in such a way. Usually, the house was bright with candlelight and people were always running from one place to another setting for the night, but this time, everything was quiet and black, as if in mourning.
She turned her face from it, she didn't want to think that among the ruins the bodies of those whom she had thought very special laid lost and burned.
"Why did they do it? What have we done?" Lily asked to the darkness.
There were no answers of course, but she couldn't help feeling forgotten and alone.
"I have to let Petunia know." She suddenly said.
She worried about what her sister would say of the matter, it was enough that she had cut all ties from Lily and her mother because of who Lily was, but how would she react to these news. It had been some time since they had been in the same room. She smiled at the irony that the after more than a year apart (they had last met at their father's funeral) it would be at their mother's service when they would see each other once more.
The sunrise stained the sky red, dawn was warm and the insects buzzed along from flower to flower. But the morning didn't bring any good news to the remaining Potters.
James had stayed up late with the tenants and Ministry agents looking through the remains of the Manor, looking for signs of the ladies. What they found plunged their spirits into an abyss of desperation and sadness. Matters were left for the next day, when light would allow them to see things better. James had retired to the Dower House with Sirius. He didn't join Lily but chose another bedroom to rest in. He didn't know how to console his wife when his own grief was just as strong.
Dumbledore had stayed as well, along with a whole battalion of Ministry agents. The peaceful land of the Gryffindor Estate had transformed itself into a battlefield. At least that's what Remus thought when he finally reached the border of James' land.
He was taken by surprise when a couple of Ministry Agents stopped him the minute he stepped into the lane leading to the Manor. He was taken to a tent and questioned by several people before Professor Dumbledore stepped in and cleared him of all suspicion.
"What is wrong Professor? What are you doing here? What are they doing here?" He asked angrily motioning to the vast number of Ministry agents patrolling the land.
Dumbledore walked beside him in silence as he allowed the young man beside him to express his anger for the treatment he received from the Ministry.
"I don't understand Professor, I leave for one night and it feels like an invasion was on its way." Remus exclaimed.
"In a way, it has." Dumbledore said sadly.
"What do you mean? And you haven't answered my question about what is going on here." Remus said.
"Let me show you." Dumbledore said.
They were walking along one of the lanes among the large gardens, everything seemed peaceful and the house was hidden by a maze of bushes. When the wall cleared, Remus yelled in anguish.
"NO!" He started running toward the blackened house calling the names of his friends. "James!"
"Remus." Dumbledore made to follow but Remus was too fast for him.
"Sirius! Lily!" Remus was yelling as he neared the house.
"Remus! Remus!" He heard his name called behind him, he turned quickly to see who was calling. Two men were running toward him, it was a little difficult to made them out in the distance, but eventually they came into focus and Remus cried happily at the sight of his two friends.
"James! Sirius! You cannot know how glad I am to see you!" He exclaimed.
"So are we, in a way, you saved our lives." Sirius exclaimed.
Remus looked confusedly at him but only motioned toward the house. "What happened?" He asked.
"As we walked with you yesterday, the Death Eaters attacked the house." Said James sadly.
"Harry and the ladies?" Remus quickly asked.
"Minnie and Lotty took Harry out before the house caught fire, Mother, Mrs. Evans and the twins weren't so lucky." James replied looking at the upper floor of the house where the bodies of his remaining family were found.
"I'm sorry James." Remus whispered.
James didn't say anything more, he just stood by his two friends looking up at the house. Remus and Sirius looked at each other with concern.
"Where they caught?" Remus asked.
"Dumbledore and the Ministry agents came as soon as they got warning of what would happen, but they were too late and the Death Eaters made a clean escape." Sirius said.
"I see. What about Lily? How is she holding up?" Remus asked.
"As well as could be expected. She and Harry are at the Dower House." Sirius said nodding toward the lane that led to the Dower House a couple of miles away from the big house.
"She is writing a note to her sister. She didn't have the courage to make a call." James said.
Lily was indeed writing a note, or at least trying to. There were so many things that needed to be done. She wanted to have the support and help from her sister, but she didn't know if she could count on it. The last time she had heard from her sister was a rather formal note, wishing them all a Happy Christmas, rather like a card written for business contacts instead to a family member.
There were many scraps of paper around the desk on which she was writing containing her many attempts to let her sister know of their mother's death.
Harry slept peacefully beside her.
Lily looked down at him and smiled. "Don't worry Harry, everything will get better, there is no way it could be any worse, right?" She said.
She took up her pen once more and began once more. She was using Muggle stationary and pens, she knew that her sister wouldn't even touch her note if she sent it by owl.
"Dear Petunia
"There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Our mother lost her life when our estate was attacked yesterday, James' mother and his nieces were with her and also were lost in the attack. We will be planning the funeral services for them all, please come, Our mother would've liked to see you here with us. If you prefer that we do not bury our mother in the cemetery here in the estate, I would like to know what your preferences are, I'm sure we could work well together.
Please come, with love
Lily"
Lily read the note several times, and sighed. It seemed too formal and pleading at the same time, but it was the best one so far. She made up her mind, Petunia needed to know and the note would be sent off as soon as it could be done.
She put the note aside and prepared an envelope. Harry slept obliviously by her side.
She heard the front door open and close. James and Sirius were back, she thought. She left the note and the envelope on the desk, ready for Roberts to send it off with the rest of the mail, and stood to welcome her husband and friend. Maybe, she thought, they would have good news.
She took Harry and walked toward one of the couches at the other side of the parlor. The parlor room in the Dower House was rather cozy, a little smaller than the one in the Big House - as the tenants called the main house - but it was sunny and large enough for their needs.
Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans had worked so hard in putting it all together before they moved in, it was now hard for Lily not to notice those special little touches they both made to make the house feel hospitable.
The door to the parlor opened and, she thought, James and Sirius came in bringing with them a saddened Remus.
"I'm so sorry Lily." He whispered as he hugged her tight.
"Thank you Remus, I'm just glad that our friends are here with us." She said.
"How are you doing?" He asked looking at her closely.
"Better than I thought." She smiled weakly.
Remus smiled and turned to look at Harry who had started to fuss.
"He seems to thrive after his ordeal." He said.
"Hopefully there will be no lasting effects from being under the sleeping spell for too long." Said James.
"Sleep never hurt anyone, I'm sure he will be fine." Said Sirius.
"You should know, you have been known to have slept for more than twelve straight hours." Said Remus.
"You should talk, you have slept for hours with no end as well." Sirius exclaimed.
"Well, of course he has Sirius, his monthly ordeal takes quite a bit of energy from him." Said Lily.
"Humph! It takes a lot of energy from us as well, at least, it used to." Winked Sirius.
James shook his head as he helped Lily into one of the chairs with a fussing Harry in her arms.
"Did you finish your letter?" He asked.
Lily gave him a deprecating smile. "I tried, but I can't say that I came up with a very poetic letter."
"I don't think your sister deserves any better." Sirius said.
"She is my sister, Sirius, she has the right to decide how things will be settled." Lily said.
"I don't think she will say a thing." James said.
"Why should she? Allowing Mrs. Evans to be buried in the family plot will save her quite a bit of money." Sirius said.
"Sirius, honestly! You make her sound so mercenary and unfeeling." Lily chided.
"That's because she is Lily. To have cut ties from you and your mother just because she doesn't like magic is not an excuse. As you said before, she was mother to both of you, but Petunia didn't bother to remember that now did she?" James exclaimed.
"I bet she will when it comes to your mother's will." Remus said to Lily.
"Oh really, she cannot be that bad." Lily said.
The three men looked skeptically at her.
"Speaking of which, did your mother talk to you about her will? Somebody with as much wealth as her own should have a solicitor to take care of that." Said Sirius.
"She never spoke of such matters to me." Said Lily with a shrug. "It never came out in the conversation, and why should it?"
"We are going to have to look through her personal things and see if we can find anything about it." Said James.
"But why the hurry, that can wait, can't it?" Asked Lily looking around at the three men.
"We could, but it wouldn't do to leave it to your sister to get to him first. The solicitor has to be informed of her demise." Said Remus.
"I doubt Petunia knows, she hasn't been in much contact with us since father's death except for a few letters here and there." Lily responded.
"With that piggy husband of hers, they are going to go searching for him as soon as news of your mother's death is received. I don't think they will stay put until they are contacted by the man." Said Sirius.
"You are really painting a bad picture of my sister, she is not like that, I'm sure she wouldn't do as you say." Exclaimed Lily.
Harry started to fuss once more, putting the current discussion on hold as Lily tried to quiet him.
"He is hungry, I'm going to feed him." She said and quickly left the room, it was very obvious that she didn't want to continue their conversation.
"What do you think? That hag is going to make problems for her." Sirius said nodding toward the envelope waiting to be sent.
"I wish I could be optimistic like Lily, but I'm afraid that you are right. That woman doesn't strike me as the mourning sort, look at the way she reacted at her father's death. This is not going to make things any easier." Said James.
"It's going to be difficult for Lily to go through her mother's things to look for information about the solicitor. It won't be any easier for you, James, to do so as you have to take care of your mother's things as well." Remus said.
"But I know where my mother kept such things, we used the same solicitor." James said.
"Perhaps we should start there, maybe he knows who was Mrs. Evans' solicitor." Sirius said.
"It is a start." Remus replied.
James nodded and sighed. His friends were right, this wasn't going to be any easier, specially if Petunia was involved.
The three men stayed in the room, waiting for Lily to join them soon.
Lily walked up the stairs to the set of rooms she had chosen. It was an spacious room, a large four-poster bed set against one of the walls, couches and daybeds were scattered around the room, a large fireplace was set against the wall opposite the bed. Two doors were located in the adjacent walls - one on each - one led to the dressing room where both Lily and James shared the space for their personal items that had been salvaged from the Manor, the other room led to an adjoining room, that had been hastily readied for Harry. A crib, some blankets and toys and a chair furnished this room. Within, Minnie was patiently waiting for her services to be required.
Lily walked briskly into Harry's little room, Minnie appeared instantly before her ready to take care of anything that Harry might need.
"He just needs to be fed and perhaps a change of diapers." Said Lily.
"Yes, Mistress Lily, Minnie will take care of Master Harry." Minnie nodded and bounced around the room getting things ready.
Lily stayed only for a minute, looking at Minnie preparing Harry. She left the room and returned to her own. She didn't want to join the men, she knew they were going to begin talking about her sister. She knew that Petunia was a hard person to get along with, she didn't denied that, but she didn't want to think that the only thing her sister would feel from the death of their mother would be greed.
They're exaggerating, she thought, nobody could be so unfeeling as they make her sound. Lily shook her head. There were so many things that needed to be done. So many things to arrange, before they could move on with their lives and raise themselves from the ashes in which the Death Eaters had tried to destroy them.
"That monster will not touch my son." She said aloud. "I won't allow him, even if it means that I should die for it."
Full of determination she left the room, prepared to face any problems that may come her way.
The following days went rather fast for James and Lily. Remus returned to the forest two more nights before he could return and give a hand to his friends. Sirius had forgotten all about his loneliness and threw himself into helping James and Lily to put things in order.
The Ministry agents continued on the estate, no reports of Death Eaters anywhere in the vicinity were gathered and the tenants helped with the renovation of the Manor House, even if the family would not be returning to it any time soon.
Dumbledore returned continuously to the estate to see how matters progressed. He avoided the subject of the attack and their move to the city as James and Lily busied themselves with preparations for the service for their family.
Things were slowly settling down, even if things would never return to be the same.
It was three days after the attack when Lily received an answer from her letter to her sister.
They were all sitting in the small dining room - Sirius was quite happy that it was rather close to the kitchens - when Roberts came in with the mail in a silver tray. He put a stack in front of James and another in front of Lily, there were a few notes for Sirius and Remus.
Since the day when the attack was reported in the Daily Prophet they had been inundated with mail from all over the magical world with condolences. Lily was happy to think that so many people offered them succor but James wasn't as pleased.
James scoffed at the sight of the mail.
Roberts cleared his throat. When James turned to look at him questioningly he answered. "I took the liberty of putting aside those letters than can wait, these are only from close friends or from business associates."
James sighed with relief. "Thank you Roberts, remind me to give you a raise." He said.
"I will do so Sir." Replied Roberts before he left the room.
James turned eagerly for his mail knowing that he would not have to read any from people he didn't know.
Lily had started opening her mail, most where from her old Hogwarts classmates and she smiled as she read along. Finally, a crisp, white envelope grabbed her attention. Unlike the others, which had clearly arrived by owl, this one had arrived by mail.
She turned it and looked at the name at the top. It was from Petunia.
Lily quickly opened the envelope and took out a sheet of stationary. Like the envelope, it had engraved petunias around the border and at the top it said "From the Desk of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Dursley".
Lily smiled, it was so like her sister to have engraved stationary. She started reading and her smile slowly died from her lips.
James was busily reading over his mail, as Sirius and Remus lost themselves sampling the food that Otty had prepared. Suddenly, they heard a sob from Lily.
"Lily?" James started to leave his seat when Lily left her chair rather abruptly that it crashed to the floor. "Lily!" James called as Lily ran out of the room.
The letter fluttered innocently to the table.
"What happened?" Asked Remus somewhat confused.
"Don't know, but I wager it was that letter." Said Sirius pointing to the letter.
James went round the table and grabbed the letter. He knew that he should go and look for Lily and comfort her, but he wanted to know what had caused her to leave the room. He started reading and swore.
"What?" Asked Remus.
"It cannot be any more bad news." Exclaimed Sirius.
"Worse, it's from Petunia. Listen to this."
"How dare you write to me and hope to get any help from me. It was your fault that mother died, if you had not been born she would still be alive. Father and mother were naïve to think that your witchcraft was harmless and would do some good; well, look at us now, both are dead and it is your fault.
"I have no need to hear from you, mother's solicitor will take care of things from now on. Vernon has friends in the profession and was able to find out who he was. He will go and see you.
"I won't go to the service, you may do as you wish, but don't think that you will see me any time soon.
"Petunia Dursley."
Sirius and Remus were silent as James read the letter, but it was rather hard to contain their indignation.
"How dare she! I'm going to apparate to that house and transfigure her into a worm and then stomp on her, see if I don't." Exclaimed Sirius with anger.
"I have to find Lily." James said and ran out of the room hoping to find Lily.
"The nerve of her. Can you believe she actually blamed Lily for their father's death? He had a bad heart for goodness sake!" Exclaimed Remus.
"At least now Lily will face the fact that her sister is no more than a hag. Good riddance I say." Sirius said as he took the letter and threw it out the window.
"What good will that do?" Asked Remus.
"Well, mother always said, out of sight out of mind." Sirius shrugged.
"You're such and idiot sometimes." Renus shook his head with exasperation.
"Hey!" Exclaimed Sirius.
"Now is not the time to argue we have to think about what we are going to do." Remus said.
"I told you what we are going to do. We'll go to her house and transfigure the lot of them into worms before stomping on them." Said Sirius.
"That would only serve to throw you into Azkaban, you would break so many rules that you would probably never see the light of the sun again." Said Remus.
As Remus and Sirius argued in the dining room, James searched all over the house for Lily, without success. He had gone to Harry's room, hoping that she would go to it for comfort, but he only found a sleeping Harry as Minnie cleaned the room.
"Does Master James want something from Minnie?" The elf asked the moment James stepped into the small bedroom.
"Has Lily been here?" James asked as he looked around.
"This morning Master James, Mistress Lily came before Mistress Lily went down to breakfast." Minnie reported.
"But not since then?" James asked eagerly.
"No master James, Minnie has not seen Mistress Lily." Minnie replied.
James nodded and promptly left the room to resume his search.
After looking through all the rooms, including Mrs. Evans', he knew that she must have gone to the gardens.
He walked down the kitchen gardens, vegetables and fruit grew profusely in their tended beds surrounded by thick shrubbery. He turned toward the lane that led to the Manor, small beds of flowers lined the lane.
James looked around, he couldn't help but think how calm and sunny everything looked, just like it was on the morning of the May Day celebration, if he would've known what would happen at the end of that day he wouldn't have left the women behind.
The wide lanes opened up at each side of him and around the bend, the dark house rose before him.
So different from what it had once been. Dark and morose, there were no children playing around the lanes, no gardeners working on the gardens, only workers, getting rid of the burned furniture and others in scaffolds painting over the black signs of the fire. But Lily was not in sight.
James looked around, where could she be? He turned toward the enclosed gardens, maybe she has gone there, he thought. He nodded to the workers as he passed, and looked saddened at the meaningless destruction that was put to rights. He felt a wave of anger invade his body. If he ever found out who had led the Death Eaters to his door, that person would be very sorry to have messed with the Potters.
He had avoided Dumbledore's visits for the last days. He knew that his former Headmaster wanted to talk about going into hiding, it was clear that Voldemort had decided to target the Potters and the fact that they went after Harry let them know that Voldemort had found out about the charm performed when Harry was newly born. His head was telling him that it would be for the best to listen to what Dumbledore had to say and go into hiding, but he couldn't help but feel that it was the wrong time to do so.
He had been lost in thought as he walked into the enclosed gardens that he didn't pay attention to what was around him. All the plants had bloomed, the gardens were a kaleidoscope of color and pleasant aromas. Insects buzzed around the flowers collecting nectar and the fountains and pools glistened with their clear water.
He finally arrived to the last garden. Their garden. He pushed against the door to see if it was closed, it opened easily. He stepped into the garden. The walls were covered in what looked to be ivy, but James new that it was not ivy at all, it was a plant that looked like ivy to the common eye, but if you had magical blood then it would look so different. The leaves changed color as the sun warmed them, they danced as if a breeze passed them by, but there was no breeze, and the aroma that emerged from it made one think of spring nights dancing with fairies.
Tall bushes of different magical plants were arranged around the garden. Small gnomes played around the dark soil and flowers bloomed everywhere. The garden was dressed in its best suit to greet the summer, it always did.
Lily was sitting on a bench next to the pool at the center of the garden. James sighed with relief as he spied her. He walked slowly toward her so not to startle her as she seemed to be oblivious to his presence.
"Lily?" He whispered as he got nearer.
"I was wishing that she would put things aside and be here for mother's service." She whispered back.
"I know." James sat beside her and put his arms around her, bringing her face to rest against his shoulder.
"Why does she hate me James? What is so bad about being a witch?" She sobbed.
"There is nothing bad with our talents Lily, never think that because of who we are and what we do, we are any different from the rest of the world. You were born with a special talent that belong only to a small community of the world. You can do great things with your talent, never let a person like your sister and her husband tell you that it's wrong." He said as he stroke her back.
"What are we going to do now?" She asked as her tears ceased to fall.
"We'll go on, Lily. We have to, for our son. He needs us to be strong." James replied.
"He knows, doesn't he? That's why they came for Harry. He knows." Lily shivered with consternation, were they really safe?
"I'm afraid that he does. I just don't understand how he knew that nobody was going to be home. They waited until we left with Remus, but how did they know that we would?" James asked the question that had been bothering him from the moment he learned of the attack.
"Where they watching us?" She asked looking up to him.
"They still wouldn't have known how long it would take us. They knew that we were going to leave, and they knew for how long, it was as if they knew about Remus." James said.
"How could they have known?" Lily asked sitting up straight.
"There is no way, only we know about it, and the Hogwarts staff but I don't think they would've said anything about it." James shook his head in denial.
"Did somebody betray that secret? But who?" Lily asked.
"I don't know. It could be that it was all a coincidence and I'm seeing more than there actually is." James smiled at Lily.
"We have to talk to Dumbledore." Lily said.
James sighed. "I know. I was wishing that it could be put aside for a while."
"We can wait until all the preparations are done and we return to London." Lily said more calmly. "Do you think we will be safe there?"
"Yes, the Ministry has taken precautions around the square, unless somebody within the Ministry wished to betray sensitive information, there is no way the Death Eaters can attack in the Square." James replied.
"James, not everyone that works in the Ministry is honest. There are corrupt officials in every level of a government, no matter if you are muggle or wizard." Lily said.
"I know, but there are so few that know how to get past by the protecting charms and I'm sure that the Ministry studied every aspect of these persons' character to take them into their confidence." James said.
Lily shrugged. She didn't really believe that, she thought that Voldemort would have taken care to have a high level Ministry agent working with him, otherwise there would be no way that he could've escaped from the Ministry this long. But she didn't want to say so to James. Having grown up under the shadow of the Ministry and having a father who worked exhaustedly for the well being of that Ministry made him blind to some of the defects that the Ministry of Magic possessed. The Ministry was more than a building, it was people, and like any person they all made mistakes, and some of those mistakes could become costly.
"Come, let's go back to the house, I'm sure that Harry is awake now and wishing to see you." James said.
Lily smiled and allowed James to help her up to her feet. Together they walked past the gardens and turned down the lane leading to the Dower House.
James was right. Harry had woken up while his parents were away and Minnie was having some problems trying to calm him down. Hearing the wails coming from his room, Remus and Sirius tried to help but that didn't seem to be enough.
When Lily and James came into the house, they found the servants quietly working as loud wails could be heard throughout the house.
Lily and James looked at each other and smiled.
They quickly climbed the stairs and walked toward Harry's room. They found Remus and Sirius sprawled on the floor while Minnie was clasping her ears against her head.
"What are you doing?" Asked James looking down at his friends.
"Trying to figure out a way to quiet Harry." Said Sirius.
Lily laughed. "That's not going to help you." She took Harry out of the crib and Harry eventually stopped crying.
"I know you are hungry, don't worry, I'll take care of you." Whispered Lily as she left the room and walked toward the backstairs that lead to the kitchens.
Sirius and Remus sighed with relief.
"I'm not getting married." Said Remus.
"I'm not having any children." Said Sirius.
James laughed.
Preparations for the service for their mothers and the twins continued. Although Lily was still saddened that Petunia had chosen not to take part on it, she accepted that her sister would not change her mind and planned everything on her own.
A plot of the family cemetery was put aside and the chapel was inundated by flowers, that the gardeners had cut from the freshly blooming gardens, and that the people of the town had brought up to the Manor.
The Manor House was looking better as the days passed. Slowly the signs of the attack started to disappear and everything started to look as if had never taken place, except for the arrangement of the service of course.
The day it was to take place arrived. The sun was out and the lawns of the estate couldn't look any better. It seemed as if nature had arrived to say its goodbye.
Many people started to arrive early in the morning. Some coming all the way from London and Godric's Hollow.
Lily and James were in the chapel very early, and started to greet people soon after. Harry was sleeping in a small carriage set beside Lily's seat at the very front.
"Thank you for coming." Lily was saying to the people as they entered.
People hugged and sobbed as they stood before them, some were very well known to them, others were just passing acquaintances. The chapel was soon full and no more room was available for more, but the latecomers didn't seem to mind it as they stood outside the doors trying to hear everything that was said inside.
Four coffins stood in front of the altar surrounded by flowers of every color and every kind and the vicar stood beside them.
The birds sang and the insects hummed. The leaves danced upon the trees and the flowers bloomed in the sunlight. In the family plot, four coffins were lowered into the ground as a somber crowd surrounded them in silence.
Lily stood by James, Harry lay quietly in his mother's arms. He was awake but somehow seemed to sense that it was time for silence. Sirius and Remus stood by James, both looking on as the four coffins were slowly covered by dirt.
It was soon over and it was time for everybody to retire to the ballroom in the Manor House, which had been opened for the occasion, chairs and sofas were brought to the large room and people walked among them forming groups to talk about those they had come to say goodbye to.
James and Lily sat by the large French doors that opened to the formal gardens and people approached them often to talk.
"I knew your mother quite well. She was an exceptional woman."
"Thank you sir, I'm sure she would be pleased that you held her in great esteem." James would answer.
"Young lady, your mother was a sweet woman, I'm sure she would be pleased at the way you chose to celebrate her life."
"Thank you sir, I believe so as well." Lily said many times.
Finally, an old gentleman approached them. He looked quite somber dressed in black, but he had a kind face.
"I'm sorry to have heard about your mothers' death, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I knew your mother, Miss Lily, for many years, it had been my privilege to care for her and your father's estate for many decades." The old man said looking at Lily.
"Oh, did you work with them?" Lily asked, she had never met her father's business partners and her mother had kept everything separate from her own family life that she never mentioned business at all.
"In a sense, I was their solicitor." The old man bowed. "Mr. Adolphus Nikolei, at your service." He said.
"I am very please to see you sir, we were just talking the other day that I didn't know who my mother's solicitor was and that we needed to find out." Exclaimed Lily.
"Indeed, specially since her sister Petunia wasn't to be present." Said James.
Lily glared at James but Mr. Nikolei didn't seem to notice.
"Indeed, I was aware of that. She spoke to me a few days ago and said that she would not attend."
"She told you that?" Lily asked surprised.
"She did." Mr. Nikolei nodded. "She wanted to warn me in case I was planning to read your mother's will after the service."
"Of course she did." James said in a sarcastic tone.
"I told her of course that it had been your mother's wish that her will be read a week after her service, she made several articles in her will for every contingency." Mr. Nikolei responded. "In fact, I wished to ask if you prefer to have the will read here or in town, your mother told me to make sure that I adhere to your needs."
"We will probably be in town by the end of this week." James said.
"Should we go to your office?" Lily asked.
"No, we can do it in your town house. Your mother said that she wished it to be read in your house. I will let your sister know." Mr. Nikolei said.
"Of course." Nodded Lily.
Mr. Nikolei bowed to them and wiggled his fingers to Harry who laughed happily as he did so.
"Petunia will not be too happy to go to the London house." Lily said.
"She will be there if she wants to know what your mother's will says." James said.
Lily didn't say anything but James knew that she was worried about what would happen in one week.
True to his word, the remaining Potters left Gryffindor Manor at the end of the week, both Sirius and Remus accompanied them and Peter, who had arrived late the day of the service and had stayed with them for the remaining of the week, returned to his mother's side.
The servants had moved to the city the previous day to make the house ready for their masters. Mr. Sanders, along with the tenants and gardeners who were staying behind, lined the lane leading to main road out of the estate to wave them goodbye. Nobody knew how long the Masters of the Gryffindor Estate would be away from the Manor and everybody hoped that it wouldn't be for too long.
The ride to London was short and silent. Harry was asleep much of the way as the sounds of the motor and the motion of the car lulled him into a deep sleep.
Lily spent the ride looking out the window and letting the scenery pass by. James sat next to her looking forward his brow frowning as he thought things over. Sirius and Remus kept their silence, even if both had so many things to say.
The day was almost over when the car drove past the streets of London and eventually arrived to Rowe Square.
The building that housed the Ministry of Magic was well lit and people were coming and going out of its principal entrance. The park was full of children playing and laughing as their guardians looked indulgently around them. The Regency Hotel on the opposite side of the square from the Ministry stood proudly in the waning sunlight and the houses around the square were being lit to greet the evening.
Roberts stood by the open door of the house as the car stopped in front. Remus and Sirius quickly got out as Martin, the driver, helped Lily out.
"Good evening Roberts." Said James as he led Lily and the others up the front steps.
"Evening Sir, Mistress Lily." Greeted Roberts, bowing to them. "Everything is ready for you."
"Oh good, I think I will rest a little before dinner." Said Lily as she carried Harry across the threshold.
Minnie instantly appeared before them, ready to take Harry while James and Lily settled down after the trip.
"Any visits while we were away?" They were now settled in the bookroom and Lily had left them to themselves as she took some time to rest.
"None Sir, but this owl arrived earlier today." Said Roberts giving him a sealed parchment.
"Thank you Roberts, let us know when dinner is ready to be served." Said James.
Roberts left them after making sure that the decanters were full and empty glasses were placed beside them.
"It's from Dumbledore." James told Remus and Sirius after reading the short note. "He is coming to speak with us tomorrow."
"What is going on James?" Remus suddenly said.
"And don't tell us you don't know. The Death Eaters attacked for a reason." Sirius said.
James shrugged, he was still hoping not to involve his friends into the situation that he and Lily had themselves embroiled on. "It could be that we were not as careful as we hopped when we decided to protect the members of our group." He said.
"That won't do James, we heard Lotty telling you that the Death Eaters were looking for Harry." Remus said.
"If it had been as you say, they wouldn't have waited until we left with Remus, they would've attacked the moment we returned from town. But they waited until they knew that the only ones left were the ladies and the elves, Harry was technically unprotected." Sirius said.
"I cannot tell you, it's not my secret to tell." James said.
"James, you know us, we would never betray you." Remus said.
"I'm sorry." James replied.
Both Sirius and Remus sighed with exasperation, they knew that if James put his mind into something they would never get it out of him.
"What can we do?" Sirius asked.
"There is nothing to be done. We'll see what Dumbledore has to say." James said.
"Will that help?" Remus said.
"I don't see how it could not." James smiled sadly.
There was no further discussions as Lily soon appeared looking rested and calmer as she told them that dinner was almost ready.
The three men left the bookroom and followed her to the family room to await dinner to be served.
The first evening back in town was carefree and silent as they tried to continue with their lives after the event that had turned many of their dreams and plans to ashes in the smoldering fire.
A/N: I know is shorter than other chapters and a little sad, the next couple of chapters feel a little dark as well, I'm working on Chapter 8 now and I think there is only one more chapter after that and this part of the story is done. Thank you all for reviewing, I'm glad that many of you are enjoying it.
Kirbee: Thank you, I like yours as well, although I haven't read the one you are working on now, but I'll take some time to do so.
Ice Princess: There might be some mistakes I know, I thought I had fixed that one though. When I first started this story I put a description of them in chapter 2, by the time I got to chapter 3 I changed my vision of them, that's when I did the dolls, so I could keep a concrete vision of them. I went back and changed the description, at least it is changed in the copy I have, but I may have uploaded the original chapter without noticing. I'll have to go back and see where the changes are needed, thanks for pointing that out though.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter, they all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Chapter 6 ~ From the Ashes
The brigade of people worked late into the night to extinguish the flames that consumed the Manor, the structure seemed strong and there didn't seem any danger of the house being destroyed except for the damage that the fire caused in the main rooms of the ground floor.
The women of the village brought blankets and food for Lily and Harry, while James and Sirius worked doggedly with the others.
The House looked like a black tower, with the blackened walls and the open windows and doors charred from inside.
Eventually, the fire was under control and the flames were slowly extinguished.
Unfortunately, no news of Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Evans and the twins were found. Only a small number of the house-elves survived, many were killed inside the house.
Lily watched sadly as the flames died down and only smoke from the ashes could be seen.
The green mark above the house that had alerted all of what had happened had dissipated, with the help of various spells thrown by the Ministry Agents, it didn't help much for the moral of the volunteers to have it looming above them.
Lily didn't wail or screamed, only silent tears were seen running down her face. Harry slept peacefully in her arms, James and she had thought it better to let him under the spell's influence, there was nothing that he could do but cry.
As the fired died down and the people started to disperse among the grounds in search of further damage, James and Sirius approached Lily.
"Anything? Did you find something?" She asked as they sat by her.
James shook his head dejectedly from side to side. "No, we can't find them among this crowd, nor anyone who may have seen them."
"Oh, James! What if they are still there and they couldn't make it out?" Lily turned her tearstained face to him.
James kissed her lips tenderly. "If they are, I just hope that they killed them before they set fire to the house, I don't like the idea of them being burned alive."
Sirius didn't say it, but he feared that the Death Eaters would be quite capable of doing just that.
Professor Dumbledore joined them soon after. He looked sadly at the young couple with their sleeping infant and was saddened that after all they had gone through, that the Death Eaters had taken their last living relatives.
"When were you owled about this?" Asked Sirius when he noticed their old Professor standing by them.
"I got the warning this afternoon. I sent an owl to the Ministry as soon as I received it and came here, the Ministry agents joined me seconds after my arrival, but it was too late, the house was already on fire and some of the house-elves were making their way out of it." Dumbledore said.
"How did Minnie and Lotty get Harry out?" James asked.
"You know that the elves have their own brand of magic, but they can use it only for their duties and to help themselves, they can apparate and levitate on their own but not when humans that cannot do it on they own, muggles and magical children, but if they do it as a group, they can do it. Lotty and Minnie combined their magic to get Harry out of the house and hid in the orchard. They came to me when they saw me, and the Ministry agents. They had a hard time trying to keep Harry quiet and stay hidden." Dumbledore reported.
"He was scared." Lily said as she looked down at her son.
"I would be too. To be abruptly taken from my home. He probably sensed there was trouble." James said.
Dumbledore nodded. "He probably did. Children have an acute sense of perception that most of us lose as we get older."
"What will happen now? We cannot stay here." James said.
"I doubt they will return for the next months, they know that the Ministry will make an investigation and agents will be surrounding the area. For now, you are safe, but I think it will be better for you to return to London as soon as you can make arrangements, we will make further decisions then." Dumbledore said.
James nodded while Lily looked sadly at the smoking house.
"We can stay in the Dower House for now, while search for the ladies and the twins is finished. Then we can move to London." Sirius said.
Night had fallen, and work still continued. The smoldering remains were slowly cleared and order was eventually restored.
James had taken Lily to the Dower House to care for Harry and to rest before returning to help with the work. But Lily couldn't rest at all.
She had lifted the spell from Harry, who had cried nonstop for a few minutes before eventually falling silent in his mother's arms. Lily looked down at him with sorrow and relief. She felt sorrow that she had lost her mother and mother-in-law along with the twins at the end of what had started to be a wonderful day, and relief, that she hadn't lost her son as well. That made her feel guilty as well, but she couldn't help feeling happy that her son had been spared.
"Oh Harry!" She sobbed as she watched her son falling asleep in her arms. "What are we to do now?"
She was sitting in one of the unused bedrooms, she had left her mother's and Mrs. Potter's as they had left them, in case good news could be found even in if everybody said that it was impossible.
She looked out the window and saw the Manor House in the distance. The charred façade was dark, only the outline of the house against the full moon could be seen in the distance. It was strange to see the edifice in such a way. Usually, the house was bright with candlelight and people were always running from one place to another setting for the night, but this time, everything was quiet and black, as if in mourning.
She turned her face from it, she didn't want to think that among the ruins the bodies of those whom she had thought very special laid lost and burned.
"Why did they do it? What have we done?" Lily asked to the darkness.
There were no answers of course, but she couldn't help feeling forgotten and alone.
"I have to let Petunia know." She suddenly said.
She worried about what her sister would say of the matter, it was enough that she had cut all ties from Lily and her mother because of who Lily was, but how would she react to these news. It had been some time since they had been in the same room. She smiled at the irony that the after more than a year apart (they had last met at their father's funeral) it would be at their mother's service when they would see each other once more.
The sunrise stained the sky red, dawn was warm and the insects buzzed along from flower to flower. But the morning didn't bring any good news to the remaining Potters.
James had stayed up late with the tenants and Ministry agents looking through the remains of the Manor, looking for signs of the ladies. What they found plunged their spirits into an abyss of desperation and sadness. Matters were left for the next day, when light would allow them to see things better. James had retired to the Dower House with Sirius. He didn't join Lily but chose another bedroom to rest in. He didn't know how to console his wife when his own grief was just as strong.
Dumbledore had stayed as well, along with a whole battalion of Ministry agents. The peaceful land of the Gryffindor Estate had transformed itself into a battlefield. At least that's what Remus thought when he finally reached the border of James' land.
He was taken by surprise when a couple of Ministry Agents stopped him the minute he stepped into the lane leading to the Manor. He was taken to a tent and questioned by several people before Professor Dumbledore stepped in and cleared him of all suspicion.
"What is wrong Professor? What are you doing here? What are they doing here?" He asked angrily motioning to the vast number of Ministry agents patrolling the land.
Dumbledore walked beside him in silence as he allowed the young man beside him to express his anger for the treatment he received from the Ministry.
"I don't understand Professor, I leave for one night and it feels like an invasion was on its way." Remus exclaimed.
"In a way, it has." Dumbledore said sadly.
"What do you mean? And you haven't answered my question about what is going on here." Remus said.
"Let me show you." Dumbledore said.
They were walking along one of the lanes among the large gardens, everything seemed peaceful and the house was hidden by a maze of bushes. When the wall cleared, Remus yelled in anguish.
"NO!" He started running toward the blackened house calling the names of his friends. "James!"
"Remus." Dumbledore made to follow but Remus was too fast for him.
"Sirius! Lily!" Remus was yelling as he neared the house.
"Remus! Remus!" He heard his name called behind him, he turned quickly to see who was calling. Two men were running toward him, it was a little difficult to made them out in the distance, but eventually they came into focus and Remus cried happily at the sight of his two friends.
"James! Sirius! You cannot know how glad I am to see you!" He exclaimed.
"So are we, in a way, you saved our lives." Sirius exclaimed.
Remus looked confusedly at him but only motioned toward the house. "What happened?" He asked.
"As we walked with you yesterday, the Death Eaters attacked the house." Said James sadly.
"Harry and the ladies?" Remus quickly asked.
"Minnie and Lotty took Harry out before the house caught fire, Mother, Mrs. Evans and the twins weren't so lucky." James replied looking at the upper floor of the house where the bodies of his remaining family were found.
"I'm sorry James." Remus whispered.
James didn't say anything more, he just stood by his two friends looking up at the house. Remus and Sirius looked at each other with concern.
"Where they caught?" Remus asked.
"Dumbledore and the Ministry agents came as soon as they got warning of what would happen, but they were too late and the Death Eaters made a clean escape." Sirius said.
"I see. What about Lily? How is she holding up?" Remus asked.
"As well as could be expected. She and Harry are at the Dower House." Sirius said nodding toward the lane that led to the Dower House a couple of miles away from the big house.
"She is writing a note to her sister. She didn't have the courage to make a call." James said.
Lily was indeed writing a note, or at least trying to. There were so many things that needed to be done. She wanted to have the support and help from her sister, but she didn't know if she could count on it. The last time she had heard from her sister was a rather formal note, wishing them all a Happy Christmas, rather like a card written for business contacts instead to a family member.
There were many scraps of paper around the desk on which she was writing containing her many attempts to let her sister know of their mother's death.
Harry slept peacefully beside her.
Lily looked down at him and smiled. "Don't worry Harry, everything will get better, there is no way it could be any worse, right?" She said.
She took up her pen once more and began once more. She was using Muggle stationary and pens, she knew that her sister wouldn't even touch her note if she sent it by owl.
"Dear Petunia
"There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Our mother lost her life when our estate was attacked yesterday, James' mother and his nieces were with her and also were lost in the attack. We will be planning the funeral services for them all, please come, Our mother would've liked to see you here with us. If you prefer that we do not bury our mother in the cemetery here in the estate, I would like to know what your preferences are, I'm sure we could work well together.
Please come, with love
Lily"
Lily read the note several times, and sighed. It seemed too formal and pleading at the same time, but it was the best one so far. She made up her mind, Petunia needed to know and the note would be sent off as soon as it could be done.
She put the note aside and prepared an envelope. Harry slept obliviously by her side.
She heard the front door open and close. James and Sirius were back, she thought. She left the note and the envelope on the desk, ready for Roberts to send it off with the rest of the mail, and stood to welcome her husband and friend. Maybe, she thought, they would have good news.
She took Harry and walked toward one of the couches at the other side of the parlor. The parlor room in the Dower House was rather cozy, a little smaller than the one in the Big House - as the tenants called the main house - but it was sunny and large enough for their needs.
Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans had worked so hard in putting it all together before they moved in, it was now hard for Lily not to notice those special little touches they both made to make the house feel hospitable.
The door to the parlor opened and, she thought, James and Sirius came in bringing with them a saddened Remus.
"I'm so sorry Lily." He whispered as he hugged her tight.
"Thank you Remus, I'm just glad that our friends are here with us." She said.
"How are you doing?" He asked looking at her closely.
"Better than I thought." She smiled weakly.
Remus smiled and turned to look at Harry who had started to fuss.
"He seems to thrive after his ordeal." He said.
"Hopefully there will be no lasting effects from being under the sleeping spell for too long." Said James.
"Sleep never hurt anyone, I'm sure he will be fine." Said Sirius.
"You should know, you have been known to have slept for more than twelve straight hours." Said Remus.
"You should talk, you have slept for hours with no end as well." Sirius exclaimed.
"Well, of course he has Sirius, his monthly ordeal takes quite a bit of energy from him." Said Lily.
"Humph! It takes a lot of energy from us as well, at least, it used to." Winked Sirius.
James shook his head as he helped Lily into one of the chairs with a fussing Harry in her arms.
"Did you finish your letter?" He asked.
Lily gave him a deprecating smile. "I tried, but I can't say that I came up with a very poetic letter."
"I don't think your sister deserves any better." Sirius said.
"She is my sister, Sirius, she has the right to decide how things will be settled." Lily said.
"I don't think she will say a thing." James said.
"Why should she? Allowing Mrs. Evans to be buried in the family plot will save her quite a bit of money." Sirius said.
"Sirius, honestly! You make her sound so mercenary and unfeeling." Lily chided.
"That's because she is Lily. To have cut ties from you and your mother just because she doesn't like magic is not an excuse. As you said before, she was mother to both of you, but Petunia didn't bother to remember that now did she?" James exclaimed.
"I bet she will when it comes to your mother's will." Remus said to Lily.
"Oh really, she cannot be that bad." Lily said.
The three men looked skeptically at her.
"Speaking of which, did your mother talk to you about her will? Somebody with as much wealth as her own should have a solicitor to take care of that." Said Sirius.
"She never spoke of such matters to me." Said Lily with a shrug. "It never came out in the conversation, and why should it?"
"We are going to have to look through her personal things and see if we can find anything about it." Said James.
"But why the hurry, that can wait, can't it?" Asked Lily looking around at the three men.
"We could, but it wouldn't do to leave it to your sister to get to him first. The solicitor has to be informed of her demise." Said Remus.
"I doubt Petunia knows, she hasn't been in much contact with us since father's death except for a few letters here and there." Lily responded.
"With that piggy husband of hers, they are going to go searching for him as soon as news of your mother's death is received. I don't think they will stay put until they are contacted by the man." Said Sirius.
"You are really painting a bad picture of my sister, she is not like that, I'm sure she wouldn't do as you say." Exclaimed Lily.
Harry started to fuss once more, putting the current discussion on hold as Lily tried to quiet him.
"He is hungry, I'm going to feed him." She said and quickly left the room, it was very obvious that she didn't want to continue their conversation.
"What do you think? That hag is going to make problems for her." Sirius said nodding toward the envelope waiting to be sent.
"I wish I could be optimistic like Lily, but I'm afraid that you are right. That woman doesn't strike me as the mourning sort, look at the way she reacted at her father's death. This is not going to make things any easier." Said James.
"It's going to be difficult for Lily to go through her mother's things to look for information about the solicitor. It won't be any easier for you, James, to do so as you have to take care of your mother's things as well." Remus said.
"But I know where my mother kept such things, we used the same solicitor." James said.
"Perhaps we should start there, maybe he knows who was Mrs. Evans' solicitor." Sirius said.
"It is a start." Remus replied.
James nodded and sighed. His friends were right, this wasn't going to be any easier, specially if Petunia was involved.
The three men stayed in the room, waiting for Lily to join them soon.
Lily walked up the stairs to the set of rooms she had chosen. It was an spacious room, a large four-poster bed set against one of the walls, couches and daybeds were scattered around the room, a large fireplace was set against the wall opposite the bed. Two doors were located in the adjacent walls - one on each - one led to the dressing room where both Lily and James shared the space for their personal items that had been salvaged from the Manor, the other room led to an adjoining room, that had been hastily readied for Harry. A crib, some blankets and toys and a chair furnished this room. Within, Minnie was patiently waiting for her services to be required.
Lily walked briskly into Harry's little room, Minnie appeared instantly before her ready to take care of anything that Harry might need.
"He just needs to be fed and perhaps a change of diapers." Said Lily.
"Yes, Mistress Lily, Minnie will take care of Master Harry." Minnie nodded and bounced around the room getting things ready.
Lily stayed only for a minute, looking at Minnie preparing Harry. She left the room and returned to her own. She didn't want to join the men, she knew they were going to begin talking about her sister. She knew that Petunia was a hard person to get along with, she didn't denied that, but she didn't want to think that the only thing her sister would feel from the death of their mother would be greed.
They're exaggerating, she thought, nobody could be so unfeeling as they make her sound. Lily shook her head. There were so many things that needed to be done. So many things to arrange, before they could move on with their lives and raise themselves from the ashes in which the Death Eaters had tried to destroy them.
"That monster will not touch my son." She said aloud. "I won't allow him, even if it means that I should die for it."
Full of determination she left the room, prepared to face any problems that may come her way.
The following days went rather fast for James and Lily. Remus returned to the forest two more nights before he could return and give a hand to his friends. Sirius had forgotten all about his loneliness and threw himself into helping James and Lily to put things in order.
The Ministry agents continued on the estate, no reports of Death Eaters anywhere in the vicinity were gathered and the tenants helped with the renovation of the Manor House, even if the family would not be returning to it any time soon.
Dumbledore returned continuously to the estate to see how matters progressed. He avoided the subject of the attack and their move to the city as James and Lily busied themselves with preparations for the service for their family.
Things were slowly settling down, even if things would never return to be the same.
It was three days after the attack when Lily received an answer from her letter to her sister.
They were all sitting in the small dining room - Sirius was quite happy that it was rather close to the kitchens - when Roberts came in with the mail in a silver tray. He put a stack in front of James and another in front of Lily, there were a few notes for Sirius and Remus.
Since the day when the attack was reported in the Daily Prophet they had been inundated with mail from all over the magical world with condolences. Lily was happy to think that so many people offered them succor but James wasn't as pleased.
James scoffed at the sight of the mail.
Roberts cleared his throat. When James turned to look at him questioningly he answered. "I took the liberty of putting aside those letters than can wait, these are only from close friends or from business associates."
James sighed with relief. "Thank you Roberts, remind me to give you a raise." He said.
"I will do so Sir." Replied Roberts before he left the room.
James turned eagerly for his mail knowing that he would not have to read any from people he didn't know.
Lily had started opening her mail, most where from her old Hogwarts classmates and she smiled as she read along. Finally, a crisp, white envelope grabbed her attention. Unlike the others, which had clearly arrived by owl, this one had arrived by mail.
She turned it and looked at the name at the top. It was from Petunia.
Lily quickly opened the envelope and took out a sheet of stationary. Like the envelope, it had engraved petunias around the border and at the top it said "From the Desk of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Dursley".
Lily smiled, it was so like her sister to have engraved stationary. She started reading and her smile slowly died from her lips.
James was busily reading over his mail, as Sirius and Remus lost themselves sampling the food that Otty had prepared. Suddenly, they heard a sob from Lily.
"Lily?" James started to leave his seat when Lily left her chair rather abruptly that it crashed to the floor. "Lily!" James called as Lily ran out of the room.
The letter fluttered innocently to the table.
"What happened?" Asked Remus somewhat confused.
"Don't know, but I wager it was that letter." Said Sirius pointing to the letter.
James went round the table and grabbed the letter. He knew that he should go and look for Lily and comfort her, but he wanted to know what had caused her to leave the room. He started reading and swore.
"What?" Asked Remus.
"It cannot be any more bad news." Exclaimed Sirius.
"Worse, it's from Petunia. Listen to this."
"How dare you write to me and hope to get any help from me. It was your fault that mother died, if you had not been born she would still be alive. Father and mother were naïve to think that your witchcraft was harmless and would do some good; well, look at us now, both are dead and it is your fault.
"I have no need to hear from you, mother's solicitor will take care of things from now on. Vernon has friends in the profession and was able to find out who he was. He will go and see you.
"I won't go to the service, you may do as you wish, but don't think that you will see me any time soon.
"Petunia Dursley."
Sirius and Remus were silent as James read the letter, but it was rather hard to contain their indignation.
"How dare she! I'm going to apparate to that house and transfigure her into a worm and then stomp on her, see if I don't." Exclaimed Sirius with anger.
"I have to find Lily." James said and ran out of the room hoping to find Lily.
"The nerve of her. Can you believe she actually blamed Lily for their father's death? He had a bad heart for goodness sake!" Exclaimed Remus.
"At least now Lily will face the fact that her sister is no more than a hag. Good riddance I say." Sirius said as he took the letter and threw it out the window.
"What good will that do?" Asked Remus.
"Well, mother always said, out of sight out of mind." Sirius shrugged.
"You're such and idiot sometimes." Renus shook his head with exasperation.
"Hey!" Exclaimed Sirius.
"Now is not the time to argue we have to think about what we are going to do." Remus said.
"I told you what we are going to do. We'll go to her house and transfigure the lot of them into worms before stomping on them." Said Sirius.
"That would only serve to throw you into Azkaban, you would break so many rules that you would probably never see the light of the sun again." Said Remus.
As Remus and Sirius argued in the dining room, James searched all over the house for Lily, without success. He had gone to Harry's room, hoping that she would go to it for comfort, but he only found a sleeping Harry as Minnie cleaned the room.
"Does Master James want something from Minnie?" The elf asked the moment James stepped into the small bedroom.
"Has Lily been here?" James asked as he looked around.
"This morning Master James, Mistress Lily came before Mistress Lily went down to breakfast." Minnie reported.
"But not since then?" James asked eagerly.
"No master James, Minnie has not seen Mistress Lily." Minnie replied.
James nodded and promptly left the room to resume his search.
After looking through all the rooms, including Mrs. Evans', he knew that she must have gone to the gardens.
He walked down the kitchen gardens, vegetables and fruit grew profusely in their tended beds surrounded by thick shrubbery. He turned toward the lane that led to the Manor, small beds of flowers lined the lane.
James looked around, he couldn't help but think how calm and sunny everything looked, just like it was on the morning of the May Day celebration, if he would've known what would happen at the end of that day he wouldn't have left the women behind.
The wide lanes opened up at each side of him and around the bend, the dark house rose before him.
So different from what it had once been. Dark and morose, there were no children playing around the lanes, no gardeners working on the gardens, only workers, getting rid of the burned furniture and others in scaffolds painting over the black signs of the fire. But Lily was not in sight.
James looked around, where could she be? He turned toward the enclosed gardens, maybe she has gone there, he thought. He nodded to the workers as he passed, and looked saddened at the meaningless destruction that was put to rights. He felt a wave of anger invade his body. If he ever found out who had led the Death Eaters to his door, that person would be very sorry to have messed with the Potters.
He had avoided Dumbledore's visits for the last days. He knew that his former Headmaster wanted to talk about going into hiding, it was clear that Voldemort had decided to target the Potters and the fact that they went after Harry let them know that Voldemort had found out about the charm performed when Harry was newly born. His head was telling him that it would be for the best to listen to what Dumbledore had to say and go into hiding, but he couldn't help but feel that it was the wrong time to do so.
He had been lost in thought as he walked into the enclosed gardens that he didn't pay attention to what was around him. All the plants had bloomed, the gardens were a kaleidoscope of color and pleasant aromas. Insects buzzed around the flowers collecting nectar and the fountains and pools glistened with their clear water.
He finally arrived to the last garden. Their garden. He pushed against the door to see if it was closed, it opened easily. He stepped into the garden. The walls were covered in what looked to be ivy, but James new that it was not ivy at all, it was a plant that looked like ivy to the common eye, but if you had magical blood then it would look so different. The leaves changed color as the sun warmed them, they danced as if a breeze passed them by, but there was no breeze, and the aroma that emerged from it made one think of spring nights dancing with fairies.
Tall bushes of different magical plants were arranged around the garden. Small gnomes played around the dark soil and flowers bloomed everywhere. The garden was dressed in its best suit to greet the summer, it always did.
Lily was sitting on a bench next to the pool at the center of the garden. James sighed with relief as he spied her. He walked slowly toward her so not to startle her as she seemed to be oblivious to his presence.
"Lily?" He whispered as he got nearer.
"I was wishing that she would put things aside and be here for mother's service." She whispered back.
"I know." James sat beside her and put his arms around her, bringing her face to rest against his shoulder.
"Why does she hate me James? What is so bad about being a witch?" She sobbed.
"There is nothing bad with our talents Lily, never think that because of who we are and what we do, we are any different from the rest of the world. You were born with a special talent that belong only to a small community of the world. You can do great things with your talent, never let a person like your sister and her husband tell you that it's wrong." He said as he stroke her back.
"What are we going to do now?" She asked as her tears ceased to fall.
"We'll go on, Lily. We have to, for our son. He needs us to be strong." James replied.
"He knows, doesn't he? That's why they came for Harry. He knows." Lily shivered with consternation, were they really safe?
"I'm afraid that he does. I just don't understand how he knew that nobody was going to be home. They waited until we left with Remus, but how did they know that we would?" James asked the question that had been bothering him from the moment he learned of the attack.
"Where they watching us?" She asked looking up to him.
"They still wouldn't have known how long it would take us. They knew that we were going to leave, and they knew for how long, it was as if they knew about Remus." James said.
"How could they have known?" Lily asked sitting up straight.
"There is no way, only we know about it, and the Hogwarts staff but I don't think they would've said anything about it." James shook his head in denial.
"Did somebody betray that secret? But who?" Lily asked.
"I don't know. It could be that it was all a coincidence and I'm seeing more than there actually is." James smiled at Lily.
"We have to talk to Dumbledore." Lily said.
James sighed. "I know. I was wishing that it could be put aside for a while."
"We can wait until all the preparations are done and we return to London." Lily said more calmly. "Do you think we will be safe there?"
"Yes, the Ministry has taken precautions around the square, unless somebody within the Ministry wished to betray sensitive information, there is no way the Death Eaters can attack in the Square." James replied.
"James, not everyone that works in the Ministry is honest. There are corrupt officials in every level of a government, no matter if you are muggle or wizard." Lily said.
"I know, but there are so few that know how to get past by the protecting charms and I'm sure that the Ministry studied every aspect of these persons' character to take them into their confidence." James said.
Lily shrugged. She didn't really believe that, she thought that Voldemort would have taken care to have a high level Ministry agent working with him, otherwise there would be no way that he could've escaped from the Ministry this long. But she didn't want to say so to James. Having grown up under the shadow of the Ministry and having a father who worked exhaustedly for the well being of that Ministry made him blind to some of the defects that the Ministry of Magic possessed. The Ministry was more than a building, it was people, and like any person they all made mistakes, and some of those mistakes could become costly.
"Come, let's go back to the house, I'm sure that Harry is awake now and wishing to see you." James said.
Lily smiled and allowed James to help her up to her feet. Together they walked past the gardens and turned down the lane leading to the Dower House.
James was right. Harry had woken up while his parents were away and Minnie was having some problems trying to calm him down. Hearing the wails coming from his room, Remus and Sirius tried to help but that didn't seem to be enough.
When Lily and James came into the house, they found the servants quietly working as loud wails could be heard throughout the house.
Lily and James looked at each other and smiled.
They quickly climbed the stairs and walked toward Harry's room. They found Remus and Sirius sprawled on the floor while Minnie was clasping her ears against her head.
"What are you doing?" Asked James looking down at his friends.
"Trying to figure out a way to quiet Harry." Said Sirius.
Lily laughed. "That's not going to help you." She took Harry out of the crib and Harry eventually stopped crying.
"I know you are hungry, don't worry, I'll take care of you." Whispered Lily as she left the room and walked toward the backstairs that lead to the kitchens.
Sirius and Remus sighed with relief.
"I'm not getting married." Said Remus.
"I'm not having any children." Said Sirius.
James laughed.
Preparations for the service for their mothers and the twins continued. Although Lily was still saddened that Petunia had chosen not to take part on it, she accepted that her sister would not change her mind and planned everything on her own.
A plot of the family cemetery was put aside and the chapel was inundated by flowers, that the gardeners had cut from the freshly blooming gardens, and that the people of the town had brought up to the Manor.
The Manor House was looking better as the days passed. Slowly the signs of the attack started to disappear and everything started to look as if had never taken place, except for the arrangement of the service of course.
The day it was to take place arrived. The sun was out and the lawns of the estate couldn't look any better. It seemed as if nature had arrived to say its goodbye.
Many people started to arrive early in the morning. Some coming all the way from London and Godric's Hollow.
Lily and James were in the chapel very early, and started to greet people soon after. Harry was sleeping in a small carriage set beside Lily's seat at the very front.
"Thank you for coming." Lily was saying to the people as they entered.
People hugged and sobbed as they stood before them, some were very well known to them, others were just passing acquaintances. The chapel was soon full and no more room was available for more, but the latecomers didn't seem to mind it as they stood outside the doors trying to hear everything that was said inside.
Four coffins stood in front of the altar surrounded by flowers of every color and every kind and the vicar stood beside them.
The birds sang and the insects hummed. The leaves danced upon the trees and the flowers bloomed in the sunlight. In the family plot, four coffins were lowered into the ground as a somber crowd surrounded them in silence.
Lily stood by James, Harry lay quietly in his mother's arms. He was awake but somehow seemed to sense that it was time for silence. Sirius and Remus stood by James, both looking on as the four coffins were slowly covered by dirt.
It was soon over and it was time for everybody to retire to the ballroom in the Manor House, which had been opened for the occasion, chairs and sofas were brought to the large room and people walked among them forming groups to talk about those they had come to say goodbye to.
James and Lily sat by the large French doors that opened to the formal gardens and people approached them often to talk.
"I knew your mother quite well. She was an exceptional woman."
"Thank you sir, I'm sure she would be pleased that you held her in great esteem." James would answer.
"Young lady, your mother was a sweet woman, I'm sure she would be pleased at the way you chose to celebrate her life."
"Thank you sir, I believe so as well." Lily said many times.
Finally, an old gentleman approached them. He looked quite somber dressed in black, but he had a kind face.
"I'm sorry to have heard about your mothers' death, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. I knew your mother, Miss Lily, for many years, it had been my privilege to care for her and your father's estate for many decades." The old man said looking at Lily.
"Oh, did you work with them?" Lily asked, she had never met her father's business partners and her mother had kept everything separate from her own family life that she never mentioned business at all.
"In a sense, I was their solicitor." The old man bowed. "Mr. Adolphus Nikolei, at your service." He said.
"I am very please to see you sir, we were just talking the other day that I didn't know who my mother's solicitor was and that we needed to find out." Exclaimed Lily.
"Indeed, specially since her sister Petunia wasn't to be present." Said James.
Lily glared at James but Mr. Nikolei didn't seem to notice.
"Indeed, I was aware of that. She spoke to me a few days ago and said that she would not attend."
"She told you that?" Lily asked surprised.
"She did." Mr. Nikolei nodded. "She wanted to warn me in case I was planning to read your mother's will after the service."
"Of course she did." James said in a sarcastic tone.
"I told her of course that it had been your mother's wish that her will be read a week after her service, she made several articles in her will for every contingency." Mr. Nikolei responded. "In fact, I wished to ask if you prefer to have the will read here or in town, your mother told me to make sure that I adhere to your needs."
"We will probably be in town by the end of this week." James said.
"Should we go to your office?" Lily asked.
"No, we can do it in your town house. Your mother said that she wished it to be read in your house. I will let your sister know." Mr. Nikolei said.
"Of course." Nodded Lily.
Mr. Nikolei bowed to them and wiggled his fingers to Harry who laughed happily as he did so.
"Petunia will not be too happy to go to the London house." Lily said.
"She will be there if she wants to know what your mother's will says." James said.
Lily didn't say anything but James knew that she was worried about what would happen in one week.
True to his word, the remaining Potters left Gryffindor Manor at the end of the week, both Sirius and Remus accompanied them and Peter, who had arrived late the day of the service and had stayed with them for the remaining of the week, returned to his mother's side.
The servants had moved to the city the previous day to make the house ready for their masters. Mr. Sanders, along with the tenants and gardeners who were staying behind, lined the lane leading to main road out of the estate to wave them goodbye. Nobody knew how long the Masters of the Gryffindor Estate would be away from the Manor and everybody hoped that it wouldn't be for too long.
The ride to London was short and silent. Harry was asleep much of the way as the sounds of the motor and the motion of the car lulled him into a deep sleep.
Lily spent the ride looking out the window and letting the scenery pass by. James sat next to her looking forward his brow frowning as he thought things over. Sirius and Remus kept their silence, even if both had so many things to say.
The day was almost over when the car drove past the streets of London and eventually arrived to Rowe Square.
The building that housed the Ministry of Magic was well lit and people were coming and going out of its principal entrance. The park was full of children playing and laughing as their guardians looked indulgently around them. The Regency Hotel on the opposite side of the square from the Ministry stood proudly in the waning sunlight and the houses around the square were being lit to greet the evening.
Roberts stood by the open door of the house as the car stopped in front. Remus and Sirius quickly got out as Martin, the driver, helped Lily out.
"Good evening Roberts." Said James as he led Lily and the others up the front steps.
"Evening Sir, Mistress Lily." Greeted Roberts, bowing to them. "Everything is ready for you."
"Oh good, I think I will rest a little before dinner." Said Lily as she carried Harry across the threshold.
Minnie instantly appeared before them, ready to take Harry while James and Lily settled down after the trip.
"Any visits while we were away?" They were now settled in the bookroom and Lily had left them to themselves as she took some time to rest.
"None Sir, but this owl arrived earlier today." Said Roberts giving him a sealed parchment.
"Thank you Roberts, let us know when dinner is ready to be served." Said James.
Roberts left them after making sure that the decanters were full and empty glasses were placed beside them.
"It's from Dumbledore." James told Remus and Sirius after reading the short note. "He is coming to speak with us tomorrow."
"What is going on James?" Remus suddenly said.
"And don't tell us you don't know. The Death Eaters attacked for a reason." Sirius said.
James shrugged, he was still hoping not to involve his friends into the situation that he and Lily had themselves embroiled on. "It could be that we were not as careful as we hopped when we decided to protect the members of our group." He said.
"That won't do James, we heard Lotty telling you that the Death Eaters were looking for Harry." Remus said.
"If it had been as you say, they wouldn't have waited until we left with Remus, they would've attacked the moment we returned from town. But they waited until they knew that the only ones left were the ladies and the elves, Harry was technically unprotected." Sirius said.
"I cannot tell you, it's not my secret to tell." James said.
"James, you know us, we would never betray you." Remus said.
"I'm sorry." James replied.
Both Sirius and Remus sighed with exasperation, they knew that if James put his mind into something they would never get it out of him.
"What can we do?" Sirius asked.
"There is nothing to be done. We'll see what Dumbledore has to say." James said.
"Will that help?" Remus said.
"I don't see how it could not." James smiled sadly.
There was no further discussions as Lily soon appeared looking rested and calmer as she told them that dinner was almost ready.
The three men left the bookroom and followed her to the family room to await dinner to be served.
The first evening back in town was carefree and silent as they tried to continue with their lives after the event that had turned many of their dreams and plans to ashes in the smoldering fire.
A/N: I know is shorter than other chapters and a little sad, the next couple of chapters feel a little dark as well, I'm working on Chapter 8 now and I think there is only one more chapter after that and this part of the story is done. Thank you all for reviewing, I'm glad that many of you are enjoying it.
Kirbee: Thank you, I like yours as well, although I haven't read the one you are working on now, but I'll take some time to do so.
Ice Princess: There might be some mistakes I know, I thought I had fixed that one though. When I first started this story I put a description of them in chapter 2, by the time I got to chapter 3 I changed my vision of them, that's when I did the dolls, so I could keep a concrete vision of them. I went back and changed the description, at least it is changed in the copy I have, but I may have uploaded the original chapter without noticing. I'll have to go back and see where the changes are needed, thanks for pointing that out though.