Chapter Eighteen: Breaking Point

The next afternoon, Jack sat on his bed reading some paperwork from the ministry when he heard the door open and someone walk across the living room floor. A few seconds later the door cracked open to reveal Andrew's head peeping through.

"If you're busy I'll come back some other time," Andrew said, turning around to leave the room.

"No, come in Andy. I need a break from this stuff anyway. It's pretty boring! What's up? I haven't seen very much of you lately."

"Yeah, I know. Things have been kind of crazy with school and stuff. It's getting kind of intense." Andrew took a seat on the floor and leaned up against the dresser facing his brother.

"I can imagine. I've been there," Jack said, rubbing his forehead with his hands roughly.

"So the wedding's coming up, huh?"

"Yup," Jack answered with a smile. "Doesn't seem possible does it?"

"I don't know. You and Lily are kind of married already so I guess it won't be that big of an adjustment. She's already a sister to me, so this just makes it legal."

Jack nodded his head and looked at his brother intensely. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you as much as I usually am. Things have been kind of crazy lately."

"I understand," Andrew said sincerely. "Are you still going on that long term mission next fall? Dad told me about it."

"No, the situation with that has…um…changed," Jack said uncertainly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I can give you specifics but I can say that the people who needed protecting are no longer around to receive it. I hate this whole secrecy thing but unfortunately it's necessary."

Andrew waved his hand to dismiss the subject. "How's Lily doing?" he asked, changing topics.

"She has good days and bad. I think she has more bad days than she likes to admit to me, but that's just Lily. She's always trying to play it off like she's fine when she's really not."

"What about you?" Andy asked.

"I kind of feel like a robot at the moment, but I'm alright," Jack answered, trying to bring some humor to the conversation.

Just then the door opened again, this time revealing Lily herself looking extremely tired and pale against her healer robes. She also had that look in her eye, the one that told Jack she'd had an awful day.

"Hey Andrew," Lily said, ruffling his hair as she walked passed him to sit on the bed next to Jack.
"How's it going, Lil?" Andrew replied, his smile brightening.

"It's going good," Lily said unconvincingly. She looked over at Jack and could tell he wasn't buying her story. She decided it was best to come clean right away since he was going to get it out of her eventually, one way or another. "Okay, today wasn't so good. I lost a patient."

"You lost a patient? Did you find them?" Andrew asked, clearly not understanding. Jack couldn't help but laugh at his naïve remark and much to his joy, neither could Lily.

"The patient died, Andy. What kind of healer would I be if I physically lost my patients?" she explained as her face turned serious again.

"How old?" Jack asked, placing an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder and signed deeply.

"Ten," she answered softly.

"What did he die of?" Andrew wanted to know.

"We're not sure. They brought him in and he was already pretty far gone. There was nothing we could do. I had to tell his parents," Lily said, even softer than before.

"I'm sorry, love," Jack said, rubbing her back and trying to offer some comfort.

"So what were you boys talking about before I came in?" Lily said, changing the subject trying to cheer herself up.

"You," Jack answered truthfully.

"What about me?"

"Jack was just telling me that he thinks you steal the covers at night," Andrew playfully lied.

Jack looked at his brother in mock shock.

"I do not," Lily said, smiling.

"You do too," Jack countered in spite of himself.

"I do not," Lily repeated, poking him in the side.

"You do too," Jack said louder, tickling her ribcage and causing her to collapse onto the bed with laughter.

"Well, you snore like a lawn mower sometimes," Lily fired back between fits of laughter.

"I do not!"

"You do too!"

"Real mature, guys," Andrew said sarcastically. He got up and walked toward the door. "I've still got studying to do so I'll see you both later."

"Bye Andy," Jack and Lily said together, still laughing.

"Do I really steal the covers?" Lily asked with puppy eyes.

"Like a bandit," Jack said leaning forward and kissing her neck lightly. As he kissed her he pushed them down so she was laying flat on her back with him over her. "But I guess I can live with it," he said, talking about her cover-stealing tendencies between kisses.

Lily couldn't help but smile and pull him closer. "Are you thinking impure thoughts Mr. Weasley?"

"Always," he said as he continued to kiss her, moving up her jaw line and finally covering her mouth. He undid the front of her robes with is free hand as the other one tangled itself in her hair. "I missed you today," he said against her lips in a low voice.

"Really? I couldn't tell," Lily stated jokingly.

"That's never going to change."

"You think?"

"I know," he said, cutting her with another kiss. She let him continue for a few minutes before she pulled away and looked up at him. He was somewhat confused at her behavior but didn't ask any questions when he saw the serious look on her face.

"I just can't get that boy's father's face out of my mind," she said, looking past him to the ceiling. "When is the fighting ever going to stop, Jack? When will parents stop having to worrying if their children are going to be killed by rouge Death Eaters seeking revenge? The war ended years ago, and look at us now. You would never know we were on the winning side."

"It's a wonder parents bring children into the world at all," Jack said darkly. "With all the fighting it seems just easer to stop having kids until the world is a safer place to raise them in."

Lily looked at him in shocked silence. When he met her gaze he knew immediately that she was looking for something within him.

"What is it, love?" He asked finally when it became clear that she wasn't going to make the first move.

She let got of the breath she'd been holding and continued to look at him strangely. "Jack, I have something I need to tell you."

"Lily, are you alright? Has something happened?" he asked frantically, thinking of a million things that could be troubling her.

"No, I'm fine," she said bringing a hand up to brush his cheek lovingly in reassurance. "I should have said something weeks ago, but I just-"

She was cut off when the fireplace in front of the bed roared to life and Dennis O'Connor stepped out. "Sorry to interrupt," he said, blushing as he looked at them.

Jack looked back down at Lily and realized that he was still partially on top of her. Quickly he leaped off her and walked over to his supervisor. "No, its okay…we um…weren't expecting company."

"Clearly," Dennis said in a very amused tone. "I remember what it was like to be seventeen and in love."

Lily stood up as well. Looking down she saw her winter cloak was undone and decided just to take it off. She stood in her white healer intern uniform and waited for Dennis to explain why he was there unexpectedly.

"I need to borrow Jack here for a while," he explained, seeing the look on Lily's face.

"Oh?" she asked looking at Jack somewhat confusingly. This wasn't the first time he'd been called away and she hadn't. It was starting to bother her; like he was keeping something from her intentionally.

"He'll be back later tonight. It's just a meeting," Dennis added quickly, sensing her annoyance.

"A meeting that you need Jack to attend but…not me?" she accused, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Actually….yeah," Dennis said uncomfortably.

"Love, it's alright," Jack said walking over to her and wrapping an arm around her waist. "It's just a meeting. You hate them anyway. I'll be back later."

Lily kept her arms crossed but softened the harsh look on her face. "I'm being silly. You go on."

Dennis turned back to the fire and was gone with a flash of light. Jack walked around the room until he found his auror robes. Once he had them on, he turned to the fireplace preparing to leave as well.

"Wait," he said turning around. "You wanted to tell me something?"

"No, it's nothing really. Go on," she said dismissively.

"Don't be mad," he said regretfully, coming back to her and holding her shoulders.

"I'm not," Lily lied, faking a smile. "It's nothing really. Go on. I'll be waiting for you when you get home."

"You better be," he said in a low growl. "I'll have to finish what I started." He kissed her, pulling her up to him and tilting her head back. Just as soon as his lips touched hers, however, they were gone. He walked to the fireplace and again but stopped and turned around, "Lily?"

"Yes," she said expectantly.

"I love you."

For a second, and only a second, he as fourteen again, and all the pain from recent years had never happened. She looked at him in wonder. Even after all they'd been through, he could still make her feel like she was the only thing he saw in the world.

"I love you too," she said sincerely. Jack smiled at her before finally flooing away to his meeting.

Lily stood there for a long time after he left. Why was this so difficult? Why couldn't she just tell him and get it over with. Because he'll be angry, her mind told her. He'll think it's all your fault, and it is. You should have been more careful. He doesn't want this. Do you?

She nearly jumped out of her skin when a voice abruptly interrupted her mental argument with herself.

"Lily."

"What!" She said a lot more harsh than she may have wanted. She turned to see her father standing in Jack's bedroom with an odd look on his face. "Sorry, Dad, you startled me."

"Were you talking to yourself?" He asked pointing at her.

Panic swept through her. Had she really said something out loud? "Um…maybe. Did you need something?"

Harry shook his head to remember what he'd come in here for; the sight of her looking so upset had hindered his thought process. "Yeah, it's Ginny," he remembered. "She's not feeling well and I was wondering if you would go have a look at her."

"Is she here or is she at home?" Lily asked, slipping into healer mode and trying to forget about her own problems.

"She's here in my quarters," Harry said, leading the way out of the dorm and into the hallway. Even though they had a house off school grounds sometimes when the weather was bad, or they just felt like sticking near Hogwarts they would stay in his professor's quarters.

"What's wrong with her?" Lily asked.

"She says it's just a cold or something. She's been really tired and sick to her stomach for over a week now," Harry explained.

"Does she have a fever?"

"No."

"Does she feel achy?"

"Um…I don't think so. She hasn't complained of that to me but you'll have to ask her yourself."

"And you say she's had these symptoms for over a week?" Lily repeated as they were now rounding the corner to the staff's quarters.

"It was about week ago that she first mentioned it to me," he said rather irritably. He suddenly reached out and stopped her from going any further by taking her by the arm. "Lily, what's going on? You were upset about something when I walked in and now it's like you've become a totally different person."

"Dad, I'm just trying to help. That's why you came to get me, right? To help Mom because she's not feeling well," she stated, looking at him for confirmation. When he nodded she continued, "So I'm not about to stand out here and argue with you about what I may or may not be feeling when I've got a patient inside who needs my help. If you want I'd be happy to discuss certain things with you later but not at the moment."

Lily walked around him and continued to the door with "Professor Potter" painted on the outside. She walked inside without a backward glance. Harry couldn't believe the mood she was in. She seemed so cold and indifferent. Something was up and he was going to make sure she came out with it because this behavior wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Harry," a voice called behind him. He turned around and saw Ron walking up the hallway giving him a questioning look. Glancing around realized that he'd been standing in an empty hallway staring off into space. He must look like he had lost his mind.

"I just went to get Lily because Gin isn't feeling well," Harry explained.

"And that prevents you from going into your quarters?" Ron teased lightheartedly. "What's wrong with her?"

"She's been sick to her stomach and tired for over a week now," Harry informed him.

"Tired, huh," Ron said in a knowing voice.

"Yeah she's just not been herself lately. I woke up the other night and she was crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said that it was nothing. She said she just felt like crying," Harry recounted, shaking his head.

"Just felt like crying, huh?" Now Ron's face had broken out into a grin as he looked at Harry, who was still clueless.

"Why are you repeating everything I say?" Harry asked, somewhat irritated.

"Because I know what's wrong with her and you don't. When you find out what it is you're going to feel pretty daft that you didn't see it yourself," Ron concluded.

"See what?" Harry asked, now throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Come on, mate," Ron said throwing an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Let's go inside and wait for Lily to get done checking my sister over."

Harry nodded and allowed Ron to lead him into his quarters. Ron shut the door behind him and they both took a seat on the sofa in front of the fire. They waited in silence for a few minutes before Harry stood up and started pacing the room.

"I hope it's not anything serious," he said, mid-pace.

Ron had picked up a Qudditch magazine that was on the coffee table and was now flipping through it with mild interest. "Whatever it is, Harry," he said nonchalantly, "You have no one to blame but yourself."

"No one to blame…What are you talking about, Ron?"

"You'll find out in a few minutes, I assure you," Ron replied, not even bothering to look up at him.

Harry took a step towards him, perhaps to hit him, maybe yell at him. But Ron never found out what Harry would have done because a shriek from the bedroom interrupted him. The bedroom door flew open and Ginny came running out the room at top speed. Harry looked up just in time to catch her as she jumped into his arms squealing.

"Gin, what is it?" Harry asked, still holding on to her.

"Oh Harry!" she said, showering his face with kisses. "We're having a baby!"

Harry looked at her for a second in disbelief before he moved his eyes behind her to where Lily was immerging from the bedroom. Lily nodded in confirmation and his face broke out into a grin.

"I can't believe this!" he said, spinning her around and holding her tight against his body. He suddenly sat her down and held her at arms length. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked with concern, looking at her from head to toe.

"No, I'm pregnant not broken!" Ginny said, swatting him on the arm.

Harry's smile returned and he pulled her to him once more. "A baby! Ron, we're having a baby!"

"So I've heard," Ron said, beaming. He was now standing a few feet away from them. He looked like he'd just been told Christmas had come early. "Congratulations mate!" He took a step forward and gave Harry a very brotherly hug. "I didn't think it'd talk you long. You know, with Ginny being a Weasley and all!"

"Watch it, brother," Ginny scolded lightly, though her voice had still not returned to normal. She was bursting with excitement.

Ron dismissed her comment and gave her a hug as well. "I'm so happy for you, Gin."

Harry turned around while Ron and Ginny were having their moment, hoping to see Lily waiting for him with a smile. Instead he discovered that she'd left the room. "Where'd Lily go?" he asked the other two.

Ron let go of Ginny and they both looked around. "I don't know, Harry. She was right here," Ron said uncertainly.

Harry walked swiftly to the door and yanked it open. He looked in the hallway and found the quickly retreating form of his daughter already half way down the long corridor.

"Lily, wait!" he called, talking off after her. When she didn't stop he tried again thinking maybe she didn't hear him, "Please, Lily, hold on a second!" As he approached her, he saw that she had a letter clutched tightly in her fist.

Finally, after what seemed like a small eternity he reached her. He caught her by the shoulder and spun her around to face him. He was more than a little startled to see her face lined with tears and her eyes glazed over in the pale light coming from the candles floating above.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" he asked after he got over his shock.

"I got a letter from the hospital while I was in the bedroom looking at Mom," she said, holding up her still clinched fist. "They need me to come back. Something's happened."

"Lily, honey, what's wrong. Please tell me," he pleaded. He raised his hand to her face trying to wipe some of her tears away but she took a step away from him to avoid his touch.

"Nothing's wrong, Dad. I'm sorry I ran off like that. Please tell Mom that I'll be back later when I get off work to congratulate her myself. Also tell her she needs to make sure she gets enough to eat. Have her come to me if her morning sickness gets too bad but she really needs to go see a maternity healer because I'm not supposed to prescribe her with anything." She said all this very fast as she continued to take more steps away from him. Harry wasn't letting her brush him off anymore.

"Sweetheart, please tell me what's wrong. I can't fix it if I don't know what's happened," he said, now cupping her face in his hand forcing her to look at him.

Lily closed her eyes and let out a shuttering sob. "You can't fix it," she said desperately shaking her head. "No one can."

"What happened?" he asked, pulling her into a tight embrace. She let him hold her for a few minutes. At one point she even gathered some of the material of his jumper in her hands and buried her face in the material. She continued to sob open, gut wrenching sobs before she pulled and refused to look at him.

She turned around and started walking away again. "I'm sorry I can't do this."

"You've got to tell me what happened," Harry called after her. "I have a right to know. You're my daughter!" She continued to walk away and now he was chasing after her. "Come on, Lily! We've talked about this! You need to open up to people when you're hurting!"

This time it was Lily wiped around on her own and glared at him through angry tears, "Oh and you're one to talk about being open with people. This coming from the man who's spent his whole life shutting everyone else out!"

"And look where it's gotten me!" Harry said in an elevating voice.

Lily smiled a mocking smile before making her comeback. "Yes, married to the love of you're life and about to become a father again! I hope this one turns out a lot better than me. I must be a sore disappointment!"

"I have never in your life called you a disappointment!" Harry yelled back. This was just going from bad to worse.

"I have to go," she said, turning around again.

"Do not walk away from me, Lily Elizabeth Potter!" Harry roared.

She turned around again, gave him a look that would probably have turned milk sour and said in a dark menacing voice, "No, that's your job."

Harry's mouth dropped open and his body seemed to be suddenly paralyzed. He watched her turn back away from him and run down the hall. At the end of the corridor she turned to the right out of sight.

She never looked back. Not even once. Harry stood there until he heard someone call his name. He looked over his shoulder and found Ron and Ginny standing a few feet away with shocked expressions. They walked to him slowly and Ginny put a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked gently.

"I don't know," Harry said miserably.

Lily flooed to the emergency bay of the hospital with her emotions still raging. She didn't know why she'd blown up at her father. The moment she got out of the fireplace, however, all previous thoughts were forgotten. The place was in utter chaos. There were people everywhere. Injured bodies lay all over the floor. She advanced into a hallway which was filled with smoke and pulled out her wand. She saw a nurse running towards her and she held out her arm to stop her from going past.

"What's going on?" she asked the scared woman.

"Death Eaters!" the nurse said frantically. "They're attacking everyone! You're an auror aren't you?"

"Yes," Lily said. She was now very fearful. If someone hadn't notified the department she might be the only auror within a few miles radius, and in all the upheaval they might not even know what's going on.

"Then do something!" The woman screamed pointing behind her as if to indicate that was the direction the villains were attacking from.

"Make sure that an owl has been sent to Dennis O'Connor," Lily said finally.

The risk didn't matter to her. If she was the only person present who could help these people than she'd do whatever needed doing. "Try to clear all these people out of here. Get the ones that can walk out first and then carry the others."

The woman nodded and ran past her back down the hallway. Lily squared her shoulders and walked toward an enemy she felt like she'd spent her entire life fighting. The only question was whether she would be so lucky this time?

Jack sat in a chair in one of the conference rooms at the Ministry. The meeting felt like it had been going on for hours. They'd spent the last while talking about a recent killing in Australia of a magical family in their home. Aurors had arrived at the scene just in time to stop news of the Dark Mark's reappearance from being leaked to the rest of the world.

He checked his watch and saw that it was just after ten o'clock. Lily would probably be in bed by the time he got home because she had to work in the morning. He was only half listening to the report currently being presented, but his full attention was drawn when someone came into the room in a rush and went immediately to Dennis, who was sitting at the head of the table. The man leaned down and whispered something hurriedly in Dennis's ear.

"What! Why weren't we notified sooner?" He asked jumping to his feet at once.

"I don't know, sir. The place is in frenzy. People are hurt and I guess the message just got lost in translation," the man said apologetically.

"Bloody hell!" Dennis exclaimed, walking around the large oval table to the door. "All of you, there's been an attack at St. Mungos. You all need to report there immediately. I'm re-calling all off duty staff. Be careful, we don't know how many of them are still there and we don't know if they've taken any captives. Exercise extreme caution."

Dennis swept from the room and everyone got their feet and moved to the apparition point as fast as they could. Jack followed with everyone else and the only positive thought running through his mind was that Lily was at Hogwarts and not at work.

Harry and Ginny sat in their living room staring at the fire. Ginny had finally convinced Ron that she would take care of Harry, and he'd returned to his own quarters. Harry's head rested in Ginny's lap as she absently ran her fingers over his scalp.

"I've never seen her look at me like that," he said quietly, staring up at the ceiling.

"Like what?" Ginny asked.

"Like she loathed everything about me," he replied. She watched as tears collected on the edges of his eyes.

"Love, maybe this was too much too fast for her. I mean we got back together so soon and then we got married out of the blue. Now we're having a baby. Maybe it's all too much for her to handle at once."

"No, its something else," Harry denoted. "Something else is going on and I don't know what it is."

"Give her time," Ginny advised. "Go see her tomorrow and talk to her. She is under a lot of stress."

"Too much stress for someone her age," Harry added.

"No more stress than you were under," she reminded him.

"But I never wanted that for any of my children," Harry said, turning slightly to look at her stomach. "I want better for them."

"So do I," Ginny said sadly.

"I am really happy about the baby, Gin. You know that, right?" he asked suddenly.

"I know. I could see it in your eyes. It's kind of amazing isn't it?" she smiled that goofy smile again like she had earlier in the evening.

"You're amazing," he said slowly. He sat up and was about to pull her into a kiss when their door burst open.

"Harry! St. Mungos has been attacked!" Ron called out.

"Is Lily alright?" Harry asked on instinct. He was to his feet in an instant and already walking towards his best mate.

"I don't know. But we better get down there. They're calling everyone in. I don't think they're going to be able to cover this one up," Ron said in a hurry before taking off down the hallway. Harry turned back to Ginny, who stood by the couch looking nothing short of terrified.

"It'll be okay. I promise," he soothed, going to her and holding her for a second.

"Please be careful," she begged, holding back tears.

"I will. You go and find Hermione and wait with her. We'll send word when we know something. I love you." He kissed her briefly before he left to follow Ron, off to battle once more.

Healer Kevin Brisko hurried through the many hallways of the emergency department looking for people in need of help. The fighting was now mostly in the front near the triage area, so he felt safe enough to look for victims back here. When he came to the room at the end of the hall he found the door slightly ajar.

Entering the room he saw several unmoving bodies lying on the floor. Most of them were what appeared to be Death Eaters in their cloaking uniforms. Out of obligation, he went to each of them and found none of them had a pulse or showed any signs of life. There were two orderlies and a nurse as well. He went to them next. They were all dead as well.

Sighing, he took one last look around to see if there was anyone else worth saving. Through the darkness he got a glimpse of white robes. He recognized them immediately as those worn by interns and ran over to investigate. He felt the woman's neck for a pulse and was pleasantly surprised to find a slow beating heat. He examined her closer. Her face was scratched up and her body was tense and clammy. She showed all the symptoms of someone who'd been under the influence of the Cruciatus Curse. She must have eventually passed out. He looked up at her nametag. Lily Potter, it read on the typical blue plastic plate.

"Oh Merlin," he murmured under his breath. He knew this girl. But then again, who didn't? "Hang in there kid." He pulled her into his arms and ran as fast as he could to take her to one of the floors above which wasn't under attack, or so he hoped.

A/N- There you guys. Sorry about the cliffy! Please tell me what you think!