Disclaimer: I've written stuff, but not multi-million dollar stuff.

A/N: Next chappie

JANUARY 28 SIXTH YEAR

"James," the Auror put his hand on the shoulder of the kneeling boy. James had his eyes shut tightly, knowing what he was about to be told. The man looked over at the desolate Remus and Sirius. "We can't take any more time to search for her. I'm sorry boys, there's nothing we can do."

James sprang up, his eyes blazing. "There has to be something we're missing! He has her captive, and—"

"She's dead," said another, less kind Auror.

"No. I refuse to accept that. You're letting Voldemort have her? Do you really want to be the Aurors who gave Voldemort a follower?"

"Don't say his name…"

"I. DON'T. GIVE. A. BLOODY. DAMN!"

"James," said a woman, kneeling beside the boy who had semi-collapsed. "Let go. I know you love her. But let go."

The boy looked up. "Love her? I don't just love her. I live off of her. I live off of her like the flower lives off of the sun, like the trees live from the rain, like the moon lives off of the star."

Sirius and Remus looked at each other. The woman looked at them. "Right. But James, we have to go home."

"I'm not coming with you. Lily's alive. And I'm not stopping until she's safe again."

"James, you're going back home to Hogwarts. Now get ready for bed. We're leaving in the morning."

The three Marauders trudged back to their magical tent. Once inside, Remus clapped his hands together. James and Sirius looked at their friend. "Alright, then," said the Werewolf. "If they won't help us, we'll find it ourselves."

"Um, Remus? You forget we have absolutely no idea how to get there."

"No, we don't." Just then, the flames of the fireplace turned green and spat out three disheveled teenagers. "But they do."

.xXx.

Lily woke up the next morning, trying to figure out why the atmosphere was sparking with electricity. Then she remembered. Today was the day. The day Voldemort's daughter became a Death Eater.

A tall woman swept into the room and pulled the covers from Lily's silk-clad body. "Up. We must get you ready for tonight!"

Lily was bathed and dressed in fine black robes. The woman did up her hair in a tumble of glossy red curls. Lily's makeup made her green eyes stand out beautifully. Looking in the mirror, some memory was evoked in the locked room in the back of her mind where Voldemort's potions safely kept them. It struggled against the chains of the door, making them rattle. A shame that Lily shouldn't know that she was a near twin of herself the night of the Halloween ball. The night she fell in love. But the memory quieted, leaving only the slightly mournful feeling of a memory forgotten that shouldn't have been.

A hooded and cloaked Death Eater entered Lily's opened door. "The Dark Lord wishes us to escort you to the Christening Room," hissed a woman's voice. Lily turned to look for the woman who had done her hair, to find that she, too, was dressed in Death Eater garb. Lily nodded, and the two women took her elbows and led her through the halls.

.xXx.

"Here it is," said the boy, gesturing to the enormous castle before them.

"He lives here?" asked James.

"Yes," said a short girl. Her pale face glowed in the moonlight, offsetting her raven black hair.

"How did you know how to find this?"

"We're Death Eaters," said a second girl simply, shrugging, her gray eyes frank. "And we have to be here tonight anyway. The Dark Lord is making her his heir."

The Marauders stopped dead. "Tonight?"

"Yes," said the Death Eater boy. "Are you sure you guys want to do this?"

"My life without her… It's like a living death."

"Okay, then here's the plan."

.xXx.

When Lily's escorts brought her to the room, she gasped. The circular room was lined with torches and Death Eaters. There was a raised area in the center, where her father stood. The three women stopped at the open door. The Death Eaters bowed to the presence of the Dark Lord's daughter. Lily walked forward with her escorts. They stopped again at the base of the raised spot.

"We give you Lily, your daughter and heiress," said one woman.

"She has been shown the ways of your rule and has no objection," said the other.

"She embraces the ways of our kind and is loyal to you above the rest."

"Her heart knows pain, knows sorrow, knows death."

"And through it all she has remained steadfast."

Now Lily spoke. "I am you daughter beyond blood. I would give my life to serve you. The death of one may be necessary for our cause, and I flinch not at giving you that life. My own is yours and I devote it to you forever."

Now came the main ceremony. "Do you, Lily, accept your responsibilities as a Death Eater?"

"I do." Voldemort drew a line down her arm with his wand.

"And do you devote your life to be mine to command?"

"I do." Another line.

"Is your wand mine to defend my own?"

"It is." A small flick.

"Will you accept me as your master above all?"

"I will." She tried not to flinch as his wand traced her veins.

"Do you realize what a Death Eater is?"

"Yes." Her veins seared with magic.

"What is it?"

"To be a Death Eater is to be above the rest and recognize only the purest of blood." Her arm burned with bright light. The Death Eaters raised their wands and together created a Dark Mark above Lily and Voldemort.

"And so you join our ranks," Voldemort said quietly. "But what will happen should I fall?" Lily's wide eyes met Voldemort's own. There were hisses of anger through the crowd. Voldemort would never fall. But it was part of the Ceremony of Heirs.

"I should avenge your fall, my lord, with an anger that has yet to be seen by this world."

"And what of my Death Eaters?"

"I should take them as my own to command."

"And how shall you command?"

"As you would, father."

"Then if your answers remain true, I ask that you learn my command."

Lily stepped down and went to the first Death Eater. She would complete the circle around the room, asking loyalty of each witch and wizard there. No one noticed that six hooded figures joined the ring.

The redhead was nearing the middle of the round. She stopped before a Death Eater, a boy it seemed, though he was much taller than she. Instead of the normal "Your wand belonged to my father before me, and so it shall be mine. Is it so?" she said instead, "I feel like I should know you."

The cloaked figure seemed to stiffen. A rough, boyish voice asked, "Where do your own loyalties lie, Lily?" The voice was quiet, ensuring no one else heard.

Shocked, Lily hissed back, "To my father."

"Is he who you think he is, or have you yet been deceived?"

Lily was indignant. "Remove your mask so that I may see the face of insolence."

The voice smirked. The bloody voice smirked. "And why would I do that?"

Lily recognized that smirking voice. But before she could do anything about it, a man raised his wand. "She is not of pure blood!" was the cry that silenced all.

Voldemort pulsated anger. To the women who brought Lily to the room, he whispered, "Take her to the Green Room on the third floor in the second wing. Now." Lily was ushered away, trying desperately to communicate that the traitor Sirius Black was in the room, and failing miserably.

The women whispered to each other as they carted Lily to the Green Room. Lily looked at her still-burning arm. There, permanent as death, was the Dark Mark.

.xXx.

The six hooded and masked teenagers left the room unseen. The Marauders looked at the raven haired girl, impressed. "Imperius curse, really. Didn't think you would actually do it," whispered Sirius.

"Lily's my friend, too," she said. "Now, I think he said the Green Room, that'll be third floor, second wing…"

.xXx.

The Green Room was… orange. Lily sat, rubbing her arm. She was a Death Eater.

Then, six Death Eaters burst into the room. Two raised their wands and shot Stunners at Lily's escorts. The redhead jumped up, wand out.

"Who the hell are you!"

The Death Eaters removed their masks to reveal six teenagers. James looked ready to die. Remus looked relieved. Sirius looked like he could jump up and down he was so happy. Shawn, Jay, and Trista looked like they knew they had signed their own death certificates by being there. All but James had their wands out, ready to disarm Lily if necessary.

"What are you doing here?" The Hogwarts students looked at each other.

"Um, rescuing you?" said Jay.

"Rescuing me? Rescuing me? From what?"

"From becoming a Death Eater…" said James.

"I don't know who you are, Potter, to come to my home and stop my ceremony, but you're too late anyway," Lily smirked and pushed back her sleeve, showing the skull and snake to all present.

Sirius turned to Jay, raising an eyebrow. The latter shrugged. "Not my fault."

"What are you all bloody doing here anyway?" she asked.

Shawn looked up at Lily. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what!"

"What's your middle name, Lily?" she asked.

"Well, I—"

"Your favorite color is?"

"It's—"

"What day of the week is it?"

"Um—" catching on, the others began questioning the confused redhead, not giving her time to answer.

"What year were you born?"

"Chocolate or vanilla?" asked Sirius. He was awarded with funny looks.

"What year of Hogwarts are you in?"

"How many boyfriends have you had?"

"How many OWLs did you get?"

"What class do you excel in?"

"What did you do last Christmas?"

"Who is your mother?"

"Who is my mother?" again, Sirius.

"What's your favorite Quidditch team?"

"Why are you here?" and the questions stopped.

Panicked, Lily glanced around at the semi-circle of unyielding teens before her.

"You didn't know the answers to any of those questions, did you?" asked Shawn gently. Lily looked down, really, honestly, and truthfully panicked like a deer in the headlights. James pulled Shawn back a few steps.

"Why doesn't she remember what we mean to her? Or anything else, really?" his eyes were hectic and pleading. Lily looked the twin of herself the night they first kissed, and it was all he could do to keep from attacking her with his mouth right then and there.

Shawn shrugged helplessly. "He probably used a brainwashing potion and recreated a plausible past for her. Obviously he left out some details." Now it was really all James could do to keep from running out and ripping off Voldemort's head.

He stepped back over to Lily. "Lily, I know how this is going to sound, but—" The door burst open. "Rosier!" spat James. The boy's green eyes went wide at the sight of the infamous Marauders in Voldemort's castle. The surprise shifted to a smirk when he saw the three Death Eaters.

"Well, well, well, look at what we have here." Shawn, Trista, and Jay went whiter than death. Evan's eyes darted to Lily.

It happened so fast that it seemed slow motion. Evan reached for his wand as James pulled back his fist. At the same moment, Sirius, Remus, Jay, Shawn, and Trista shot stunners at Evan. And James's fist collided with air as Evan fell to the floor. Lily yelped in surprise. With a flash of light, Voldemort was standing in the door way.

No one in the room moved as the man's eyes flitted from one to another, memorizing the faces of the betraying Death Eaters. Six wands were shakingly pointed in his direction. "Well done."

"Lily," James's voice quavered. "I know this is going to seem mad, but please take my hand." Lily snorted.

"I hate you Potter. Why would I touch you?"

"Because you don't hate me," he said desperately. "Not really."

"No, I'm pretty sure I do." Voldemort watched with some amusement.

"Ask yourself Lily. Why didn't you know the answers to any of the questions we asked you earlier?"

"You asked stupid questions."

"Lily, you know better than that. Please just take my hand."

"Potter, really, what are you doing here?"

"You've already asked that," Sirius noted.

"Leave, Potter," said Voldemort.

"No," James told him fiercely. "Not without Lily."

"You cast her away, Potter, I just picked up the pieces."

James looked ashamed, angry, and heartbroken all at once. No one noticed the other Marauders and three erring Death Eaters slowly edging towards Lily.

"What's going on?" asked Lily, looking from her father to her enemy. James turned his beautiful hazel eyes away from Voldy and met her brilliantly green ones. Lily's heart stopped. His gaze was strong, passionate, protective, caring, devoted, loving, and sweet all at once. And she couldn't figure out for the life of her why Potter was looking at her like that.

In slow motion, almost, Voldemort looked between the two of them, and too late noticed the other five teenagers. Jay threw the bag over Lily's head, and before she could react, she was side-along apparated away. Voldemort was left standing in an empty room with three unconscious death eaters. Lily was gone; that much was obvious. Voldemort smirked. He wasn't worried. His magic burned in her veins, and his mark was upon her arm. She would be back. She would be back.

Next chappie:

"Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"She's gone."

"Search the castle!"

"It's the stars, you know."

"You're you." "Well I was the last time I checked…"

"It's as permanent as death." "Whoever said death was permanent?"

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone."