Disclaimer: I DO NOT own anything related to Harry Potter. It belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 19

Trusting Death Eaters

"Ginny!" Harry shouted as soon as the spell stopped. He immediately turned into a very dangerous dive to catch Ginny before she hit the ground. He urged his broom to go faster and faster; he was still yards away from her. His speed slowly increased and he stretched his arm downward in order to grab Ginny's raised arm. Closer and closer he came when their fingers finally touched. Slower still, he finally was able to grab her forearm. He clasped his hand around her arm and pulled his broom upward, slowing their momentum. He pulled Ginny up onto the broom and flew as fast as he could from the death eaters to the group of worried teenagers in the sky.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked Ginny. He was shaking with fright, as was Ginny. She nodded her head.

They flew away to the Leaky Cauldron. James followed Harry and Ginny inside. He saw Harry pull Ginny to the side of the hall and into a nook in the wall.

"Are you sure you're alright? I'm so sorry," he heard Harry say.

"I'm fine, really. It was an accident."

"Well, I don't want some accident like that cause your death. You are too valuable to me to loose. I would rather die than loose you."

"The same goes for me, Harry," Ginny said. There was silence and as James passed them, he saw them kissing. He smiled at himself, seeing his future son he had just met still be able to find happiness in this horrible adventure."

"James," he heard Lily call.

"Hey, Lils. Are you alright?" he noticed she had a glazed look in her eyes.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course," he said, leading her away.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"James, we are here, in the future."

"I know that, Lils. Now, what's this about?"

"We just fled for our lives with our son! Our son…Our son. After we die, his life just collapses."

"Lily, we die protecting him, remember?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't last long, does it? Sixteen years later, he's chased by death eaters on his quest to destroy Voldemort because of a stupid prophecy! It is our fault we're dead, though! We trusted Peter! We trusted the wrong person! How can one life change so drastically because of one mistake?" Silent tears started to fall down her face. James put his hands on her face and whipped her tears away with his thumb.

"Lily, we couldn't have known. There's no way we could have known."

"Well, now we do! We can change it now so we don't die! We can make sure we're always there for Harry when he needs us!"

"Do you really think that McGonagall will send us back with this memory? Lily, we couldn't have helped it! We haven't made the decision to trust Peter yet. We shouldn't feel guilty. We haven't done anything yet."

"I know, but I still can't help it, knowing I do make that decision."

"Lily Alicia Evans, stop this! We probably did all we could to protect Harry. There was probably nothing more we could have done! Now, go on into the room with Hermione and Ginny and get some sleep. You're going to need it." James smiled at Lily and she smiled back, still with tears on her face. She turned around and walked into the room where she was to sleep.

James walked to the room the boys were sleeping in and found Sirius sitting on his bed listening to the conversation being held between Harry and Ron about Draco. Draco was not in the room, so was not there to hear this argument.

"He can't be trusted!"

"He helped us get away! He fought against his own father to get me out of the house! I don't like him just as much as you do, but there comes a time when we have to trust the people we dislike the most to save ourselves!"

"You know, you've gotten carried away with where you place your trust! I think you spent too much time with Dumbledore last year! First you trust Snape the death eater, now Malfoy, the son of a death eater who's also a death eater!"

"Snape's a death eater?" James and Sirius exclaimed at the same time.

"We're putting our lives in the hands of death eaters!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Snape is on our side and I believe Malfoy is on our side as well. I think we need to give him a second chance!"

"I never thought I'd see the day when you would defend Snape and Malfoy!" Ron said.

"Ron, it's thanks to Snape that we know where the horcruxes are and thanks to Malfoy that we got out of there alive!"

"Why didn't Snape tell us about the charm and the portkey, huh? How do you know he's not just trying to lure you into a trap to give you over to Voldemort?"

"I don't know anything for sure, Ron! I just have a feeling. Malfoy couldn't even kill! Do you really think someone who can't even kill when his life is on the line is really capable of being a death eater? And Snape didn't do what he did last year willingly. Dumbledore told him to! Snape made an unbreakable vow with Narcissa Malfoy, you know that! He told Dumbledore about the Vow and Dumbledore gave Snape permission to fulfill it!"

"WHAT DID SNAPE DO?" James yelled. "You have yet to say it! What did he do last year?"

Harry looked at James surprised. He had not seen him come in. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. It obviously is something that makes a lot of people distrust him and I want to know what he did!"

"How do you know it was Snape? How do you know I couldn't kill him?" came a voice from the door. They whirled around and faced Malfoy. "It wasn't in the Daily Prophet who killed Dumbledore, so how do you know?"

"I was there," Harry said.

"No you weren't. I didn't see you."

"The only reason you got Dumbledore's wand is because he was using that opportunity to defend himself to make sure I couldn't do anything rash. I was under my invisibility cloak. I saw the whole thing."

"So that's why you trusted me," Draco said.

"You still haven't answered my question. What did Snape do?"

Harry sighed and turned to James. "What he did, he did out of necessity. He didn't do it because he wanted to. He did it because Dumbledore told him to. It would take someone very loyal to Dumbledore to do this. I wouldn't have been able to do it. No one in here could have done it."

"He also would have been able to do it if he were a death eater and loyal to Voldemort!" Ron exclaimed.

"Malfoy was loyal to Voldemort and he didn't do it!"

"He's only seventeen!"

"I'm right here, you know!" Draco said.

"Stop dancing around the point and say it!" Sirius said.

"All you need to know is Snape is loyal to the Order, though they don't realize it yet."

"Well, that really clears it up!" Sirius said, throwing his hands into the air.

"I just don't think you need that information yet. Now, I am going to bed now. We are dropping this conversation now and we will not pick it back up, understand. I will tell you what you need to know when you need to know it."

"You can't last long without telling us!" James said. "We will know soon enough. I am the most stubborn person you will ever meet, well, besides Lily."

"Really?" Harry said, raising his eyebrow skeptically. "Add yours and Lily's and that's mine. Now, goodnight." James stared, open-mouthed as Harry got into the bed. Draco followed suit by sleeping on the chair in the room. Ron grudgingly turned in as well. James looked at Sirius and shrugged. He pulled his blankets down and got into bed.