Holy Flying Moses! I can't believe how many reviews I got for last chapter! That poll question really worked on you guys, didn't it? I think I even had a couple of lurkers reveal themselves from behind the shadows. Pretty sweet. Anyway, thank you soooo much for them all; I really really really appreciate them!

So, the majority consensus seems to favor Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, and Hedwig/Errol. Fine, but I'll say it again – there will not be a lot of romance! If you're expecting a major Harry/Ginny love story then this is not the fic to read. Anyway!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR, and not to me!

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Lily hurried up the stone staircase after whispering the password, "Fizzing Whisbees", and pushed open the wide door that led to Albus Dumbledore's office. She found the office empty, so Lily helped herself to a seat in front of his desk. She supposed she would just wait until Dumbledore returned from wherever he was. He couldn't have gone far, though, if he had just seen Remus a few minutes earlier.

Lily looked around the elegant room, amazed at all the memories that came flooding back. The first time she had ever been in this room had been for her first meeting as Head Girl. She had been amazed at all the beautiful and strange magical artifacts that Dumbledore kept lying around. Her next time had been with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter when they all were asked by Dumbledore to join his Order of the Phoenix during the first war, right before they graduated. Then there had been that fateful day when Dumbledore had informed her and James of the doom that awaited their newborn son. Not long after, Dumbledore had summoned her to explain the Sopravivus Charm and ask her to be his guinea pig. Not that Lily regretted it, of course. She just wished James could be with her too.

For those ten years while she was living in London, Lily had been to Dumbledore's office many times, as he liked to check on her often. That was usually when she would receive updates on Harry's life and make plans for the future. But the last time she had been here was right before she had arrived at Privet Drive, only about a week ago.

Lily was pulled out of her musings by the sound of footsteps, coming from the door on her right. Dumbledore appeared, balancing a tray and pitcher in one hand and pushing open the door with his other. When he spotted her near his desk he smiled.

"Hello, Lily. I trust your journey here has been pleasant?" He said conversationally, setting down the tray on his desk and taking a seat.

Lily wanted to snort and reply, "it wasn't so much of a journey as grabbing onto a bird and trying not to be sick," but that would have been rude.

"Fine, sir. Fawkes arrived in my bedroom right on time, just as you said." She said instead.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled madly, almost as if he knew what she was thinking. He smiled and nodded. "Would you like milk or sugar in your tea?"

"Plain is just fine, thank you." Dumbledore poured a cupful of the liquid into a cup and handed it to Lily. He poured himself some, with extra sugar to satisfy his sweet tooth, and sat down again.

"Is Harry at the Dursleys?" Dumbledore asked.

Lily shook her head, and blew on her tea. "No, he said he was going to a friends' house for the day. He couldn't tell me, obviously, but I assumed he went to the Weasleys'."

Dumbledore nodded. "That makes sense. They're the only wizarding family he really knows that well." A short silence passed between them.

"I saw Remus on my way in here." Lily commented.

Dumbledore looked up at her sharply. "Did he recognize you?" He asked calmly yet demandingly.

"No. How could he, when I look like this?" She reassured him. He relaxed instantly. "I was careful, I always am." But she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Except around Harry." The Headmaster guessed. Lily nodded reluctantly. "Lily, you know how important it is that we conceal your identity for the time being. Until your appearance is restored to its original state, there will be no safe way for you to see your friends again. So please, don't take any chances."

Lily took a long angry gulp of her tea, not noticing when it scalded her tongue. She had already had this talk with Dumbledore, many times. Why did he keep treating her like a child? She knew what she was doing; she could control her emotions. Merlin knew she had had fifteen years to practice that!

However, Lily willed her anger away. It would probably come in handy later. "How is Remus?"

Dumbledore nodded, probably expecting that particular question. "As expected. Sirius was his closest friend," he answered gently. "It makes sense that he would still be grieving."

"Especially with the full moon last week." Lily stated grimly.

Dumbledore nodded. "Remus was so used to Sirius being with him on those nights. It surprised me at first that Sirius could be of any help to Remus during his transformations, but, as it turns out, he was. In his Animagus form, Sirius was able to control the wolf slightly – or, at least, keep Remus from hurting himself too badly. The Wolfsbane Potion didn't hurt either."

Lily sighed heavily. "I would hate to be Remus right now."

"There are many people whose identities we would rather not assume. Then again, there are people who we desperately want to be. Instead, it is best to think of the positives and negatives of our own lives, and appreciate ourselves as best we can." Dumbledore preached wisely.

"Whose life do you want most?" Lily asked curiously, lightening the mood.

Dumbledore smiled. "In all honesty? Sometimes I think it would be interesting to be my brother Aberforth. He is quite the fellow. I invited him over for tea last week, but he just couldn't leave those goats."

Lily laughed, and reached for her cup again.

"So, I know that you are probably eager to hear about my progress with the Sopravivus Charm," Dumbledore began again. Lily nodded patiently, sipping her tea. Dumbledore set his cup down and looked thoughtful for a moment. But only for a moment.

"As you know, I've been trying to work out a way to reverse the magical side effects that the Sopravivus Charm has on its user. I've already discovered several of these side effects: change of appearance, memory loss, pain, deformities, and occasionally death. You took a great risk by allowing the spell to be performed on you."

Lily looked at him seriously. "I would do anything for Harry."

Dumbledore nodded. "And you've proven this on many occasions. But this may be the supreme sacrifice. You could have died, as a result of my curiosity." He looked away, closing his eyes.

Lily instantly lost all her previous resentment of Dumbledore. She leaned forward and spoke firmly, yet gently. "Don't you mean, 'as a result of your great desire to save lives? To win the war against Voldemort?' I can't think of anything I'd rather sacrifice myself for. You're doing the right thing, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore looked back at her. His eyes twinkled in thanks, and he continued. "I have recently discovered a potion that could help my efforts. It is an old Healer's remedy, one for the removal of long-term medical side effects. It has been quite useful in the past, and Healers today have only stopped using it because of its very long formation process. It is an exceedingly difficult potion. One that our own Potions Master probably couldn't manage." He paused for a moment.

Lily waited for a bit of good news. "But…?" She prodded.

"But, if I could alter it to make the process somewhat shorter, and also make a few adjustments to suit the needs of the user more appropriately, I think there will be a possibility, however small, that it can be added to the Sopravivus. It could also be taken alone, of course. For you." He added.

Lily let out a breath she hadn't been aware of holding. "That's wonderful news, Dumbledore! Tell me about the potion."

The Headmaster stood and walked to a far corner of the room, where Lily saw a tiny filing cabinet standing neatly on top of a trunk. It was extraordinarily small; Lily wondered what Dumbledore could possibly be storing in such a space. He tugged gently on one of the handles, and the drawer came sliding out, going further and further, until it covered a distance much wider than the filing cabinet (A/N: Think Bruce Almighty!) Lily was amazed; even with her years of experience with magical artifacts, there were still some that she knew nothing about.

Dumbledore looked through the cabinet, frowning, until he finally chose an old-looking book. He shut the cabinet door and brought the book over to Lily. When she saw it up close, she realized how off she had been when she described the book as "old-looking". It was ancient. The front cover was so worn, it was almost literally dangling on by a thread. The pages were yellowed age, and the dusty brown fabric of the cover was ripped in several places. Lily could read the title though, but only just. It read "Advanced Healing Potions" by Libatius Borage.

Dumbledore opened the book carefully and flipped to a page at the end. At the top, a title read 'Total Reversal Tonic – for curing the long-lasting and long-term side effects of many atypical remedies'. Underneath was a list of ingredients, and a step-by-step instruction sheet with illustrations for brewing the potion correctly. And, as with all potions, a warning and number of side effects was scribbled at the very end. Lily thought it amusing that a potion designed to get rid of side effects actually included its own, but she didn't voice this thought to Dumbledore. Not that it would matter, since he can probably hear what I'm thinking now anyway, Lily thought ironically. She briefly looked over the list of possible side effects, and was please to see nothing too horrible. 'Headaches, possible nausea, dizziness, and irritated skin may occur.' Not too bad…it's not death, at least.

"As you can see here," Dumbledore flipped the page to the beginning of the potion ingredients, "if I replaced the bat cartilage with a few lizard tales and lavender blossom juice, it would probably work just as well, but would take much less time to brew. And the orbs of palm – well, I think if I used a few lark sinews instead, and performed the third step at a higher temperature, the memory loss could be taken care of –"

Dumbledore was interrupted by a small knock on his window. Lily turned and saw a large barn owl fluttering around outside, a scroll attached to its leg.

"Excuse me for a moment." He rose again, and moved toward the window to let the owl inside.

Lily turned back to the book excitedly. Dumbledore was right; there were only a few simple changes that could be made to the potion and it should work perfectly. Of course, it would still be extremely difficult to make, but a wizard like Dumbledore should be able to take care of it easily.

"Headmaster," Lily looked up and grinned. "I really think you've got something here-" But she stopped. Dumbledore was staring at the letter in his hand, looking very grave indeed.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked worriedly, the grin slipping off her face instantly.

"There's been an attack. Death Eaters." Dumbledore replied, picking up his wand from the desk.

"Where?" She demanded, rising herself.

Dumbledore looked her straight in the eye. "The Burrow."

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Uh-oh! What about Harry? Dun dun duuuuunnn! (Aren't cliffies fun?)

Trivia Question: Who knows where I got the name of the potions book author, Libatius Borage? It's from one of the Harry Potter books, not from my imagination!

Today is my birthday, everyone! So please review, even if it's just to wish me a happy birthday!

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Ciao,

LaRohaZeta