Several hours later the four of them sat in a small office at Kings Cross Station, Dumbledore seated across from them a serious expression on his face. He spent ten minutes with them, going over the details as a whole before ushering the two boys out to go and find their families.
"Oh and James," he said, resting a hand briefly on the boys' shoulder, "find the Evans and let them know that Lily's alright. We won't be much longer, there are just a few things I'd like to discuss with the girls alone."
"Alright, professor," James nodded, prodding Sirius along, who was casting a curious look at the pair still visible through the glass window in the door. Saffron was still pale, although her dislocated arm had been mended on the journey home, Lily looked a little brighter then when they had found them, but there was something edgy about her demeanour that made him wonder exactly what it was that was being hidden from him. And he hated to be left out of a secret.
Turning back to the girls Dumbledore paused for a moment, looking them over thoughtfully, his eyes coming to rest on the pendant dangling in front of Saffron's clothes for once. Noting his gaze she closed her fist protectively around it.
"Very well," he said, resuming his seat, "now, if you be so kind as to tell me the events that were omitted from the version that the boys were just told."
"It was me they were after," Lily blurted out, expression anxious, "Armand-"
He looked up sharply, "Armand Lestrange?"
"Yes-" she nodded, hesitatingly.
"Interesting," he mused.
"What?" Saffron asked.
He looked at them for a moment before replying, "The Lestranges are among Voldemorts most powerful allies. Armand and his sister serve as his lieutenants, Variella having more of a mind for tactics, while her brother- quite a charismatic individual if I recall correctly- sees to the more people orientated tasks, although he shares much of his twin's abilities. His presence there denotes that not only does Voldemort see you as a powerful threat and therefore a most advantageous ally, but also that he sees you as important tactically."
"But what does that mean?" Saffron responded, a frown creasing her expression.
"It means that whatever his plans are for the future, I feature in them," Lily replied slowly, her head bowed as the realisation dawned on her, Dumbledore watched silently, his appreciation for her maturity evident in his expression. "Which I think means that…that…"
"That you are among the few that can turn the tide against him," finished Dumbledore firmly, voicing what she wanted to deny. "He grows stronger now, but still seeks new allies. That gives us time, time to grow accustomed to our futures."
Lily raised her head and nodded. She supposed that somewhere inside she knew that this was how it was meant to be. That the dark she must push back was the threat that Voldemort posed. And she had power it was true, power she was beginning to grow used to. But she still made mistakes. Today had been proof enough of that, she had panicked and needlessly spent her strength. If things had gone only slightly differently the day could have ended in disaster. If the Death Eaters hadn't been so badly injured and retreated she could have been killed. Worse, if one hand had slipped atop that carriage she could have lost at least one very important person in her life.
And mistakes were a luxury she could ill afford.
"So the Amazons rise," Dumbledore said, directing his comment at Saffron and breaking the pensive silence.
"Wha-a-"
Lily couldn't help but laugh at the expression on Saffron's face and the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes showed his amusement.
Saffron wrinkled her nose, resisting the urge to poke her tongue out, which she would have done had her Headmaster not have been seated opposite, "Alright, so perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised, what with you knowing so much about Lily. It's just that I was under the impression that this was kind of a secret and far too many people seem to know about this for it to be a very well kept secret."
"Many people have heard the myth," Dumbledore corrected, "but few of the Wizarding world credit it with more than an ounce of truth. So in a way it is an open secret, revealed to those few who have seen and the fewer still who believe even though they have not seen."
A few more minutes were all he needed to gain the full picture of the night's events and he was soon opening the door for the two girls to go to their anxiously waiting families. They were stood together a short distance from the Hogwarts Express that was surrounded by a group of wizards and witches repairing and reworking spells and furbishing the damaged train. The students had departed in an unusually subdued manner, eagerly received by fussing parents who had been hastily briefed by several ministry officials that had apparated as soon as the attack had been known.
Mr and Mrs Evans were stood awkwardly to one side, Mr Evans's arm reassuringly round his wife's shoulders. James trying his best to distract them from their anxiety over their daughter and out their minds' at ease while Sirius was relating the pre-agreed order of events to both his and James' parents. His own mother stood as far away as possible from the two Muggles and was regarding them with an openly disdainful expression. They all looked round as Lily and Saffron exited the office.
"Enjoy your summers," Dumbledore said, smiling at them all as he crossed the short distance with them. "I have a feeling it's going to be a very interesting one." He smiled enigmatically, and Lily could have sworn he winked at her. "Now, if you will excuse me, there is much to be done." And with a slight bow to the waiting families he joined the teams around the engine.
"Well," Mrs Black said waspishly, "now that's over, come Sirius, it's time to go home." She laid an imperious arm on his shoulder and he rolled his eyes at James, "Children, Mr and Mrs Potter," she nodded to James' parents, sparing a quick glance for their children, before marching off to where a servant stood with Sirius' trunk. Lily flushed with indignation at the slight on her family and the Potter's looked embarrassed as Sirius gave an apologetic shrug, following his mother with a rather dejected stance, his hands tucked firmly in his pockets.
"Poor child," comment Mrs Potter, "that old bag's a veritable monster!"
"Daniella!"
"Well you know she is," she responded, shaking her head at her husband, "and I know you think as badly of them as I do." Turning to the Evans' she smiled and held out her hand, "I'm Danni, so pleased to meet you, we've heard and awful lot about your daughter from our two."
"Nothing but praise," Mr Potter added, with a wink at Lily, extending his hand in greeting too.
"David,"
"Anne,"
Saffron, James and Lily took control of their luggage as their parents acquainted themselves with one another on their way out. The genial behaviour of the Potters helping to soothe any remaining discomfort the Evans felt in talking to wizarding people.
As they all passed back into Kings Cross Station and separated into the two families, Mr Evans glanced at Lily before turning to the Potters. "It's very kind of you to invite Lily with you to Greece," he said, a twinkle in his eye as he added, "We'll be sorry to have her gone from us for so long."
Lily beamed at him giving him a fierce hug, "Thanks Dad!"
"No problem, Sweetie, from what I heard from young James, you can take care of yourself. You're not my little girl any longer," he kissed her on the top of the head.
"Dad!" she flushed with embarrassment.
Her mother laughed and hugged them both. The Potters grinned at one another.
"Well then, I suppose we shall see you in a week's time," Mrs Potter said, her arm resting protectively around her unusually quiet daughter.
Breaking free from her parents Lily bid goodbye to her friends, a warm hug for Saffron and a self-conscious kiss for James before leaving the station with her parents. She could hear James being teased by his mother as the doors closed behind them.
Lily walked in the door and looked around her. It was the same old house, 11 Oak Tree Lane, but it felt different somehow. It was home and yet it wasn't and she knew as the door shut behind her, that next summer she wouldn't be returning here.
"So how was your year, darling?" her mother asked, as she walked into the kitchen to put on the kettle.
"It was…full of surprises," she replied with a secretive smile.
"When are you going?" Petunia asked waspishly. She had greeted them as they had come in the door, having elected to remain at home. Not that Lily had been surprised; Petunia had never come to meet her at the Station.
"Petty!" Mr Evans warned, "We talked about this."
"Yes, father, we talked about this," she returned, rolling her eyes.
"It's alright," Lily replied, "I'm going to visit friends in a week." Oddly, she found that Petunia's jibes no longer hurt her like they used too. She supposed the love that she had found in her friends had helped to heal wounds that she refused to be reopened. She was absolutely determined to receive all of Petunia's taunts with perfect equanimity, and so far it had been a lot easier than she had anticipated.
"James seemed like a very nice young man," Mrs Evans said, seating herself at the table next to her husband, "a very handsome boy."
Lily flushed.
"You have a boyfriend!" Petunia scoffed.
"His name is James Potter and we met him at the station," Mr Evans replied, "you should invite him over sometime in the holidays. Maybe invite the rest of his family, his mother and father were most friendly."
"Alright," Lily replied, wondering what he would make of her family and their home, she supposed he had been to Muggle homes before.
A car horn sounded outside the window.
"Oh that'll be Vernon!" Petunia shrieked, jumping to her feet and running out the door, "see you later everyone."
The door slammed behind her and Mr Evans turned to smile at Lily, "that's your sister's fiancé."
Lily blinked.
"It's alright love," Mrs Evans replied, getting up as the kettle began to whistle shrilly, "They only got engaged on Saturday."
"Oh," she didn't really know what to say to that.
"Now, let's go through to the lounge and you can tell us more about what's happened since we last saw you."
And she followed her parents through into the other room.
"Are you sure you're feeling alight, honey?" Mrs Potter asked, anxiously feeling Saffron's forehead as they entered the Leaky Cauldron. Having no use, or inclination for a car, the family always travelled by floo to and from the school, making their way from the station to the connection in the London pub.
"I'll certainly be glad once you two have passed your apperating exams," Mr Potter said, lowering the various odds and ends of luggage down in front of the fire. "And don't fuss, Danni, a nice mug of hot chocolate when we get home and Saffron'll be just fine."
"Alright Dad, pass me my trunk," James said, throwing a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and stepping in as the flames turned green. "Clifton Hill!"
He disappeared in a cloud of smoke and was soon followed by the rest of his family. Saffron was the first to arrive after him, stumbling a little as she stepped out, dropping the trunk and cage she'd been carrying onto the floor.
Reaching out to steady her he frowned, "You really aren't feeling well are you?"
She gave a half-shrug, "I've been better."
But he could feel her shaking slightly where he held her arm, "Come on," he said taking her arm and leading her through into the kitchen where he made her sit down, "I'll make you some hot chocolate."
"Thanks. Mum and Dad bumped into an old friend, and said they'd be along in a while," she said as she pillowed her head in her arms. She really did feel unwell. The school nurse had fixed her arm, and provided her with the last slab of chocolate she had, but on her way out she had found a first year looking so pale and frightened that she had given it to her. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to give it away.
"Here," she felt a warm hand on her arm and lifted her head. James was sat across from her, his expression concerned as he pushed a steaming mug of cocoa towards her. He watched as she drank it with shaking hands, his expression clearing as her cheeks regained more of their normal colour.
"That's better," he said with a smile as she put down the empty mug with a soft chink, "I couldn't have you fainting on me before you'd told me about your amazing disappearing trick could I?"
She smiled and shook her head at him, "How generous of you," she teased, provoking a grin from him. Conscious of the fact that her parents could walk in at any time she said, "let's take our things up to our rooms first, mum and dad will think we're unpacking and should leave us be."
"Right," he agreed with a nod, "and leave that empty mug there so they know that you've had some."
They walked back into the other room and Saffron went to pick up one end of the trunk.
"Oh no, you don't," James said, putting a hand on her arm and giving her the empty owl cage instead. "I'm not having you lift anything heavy just yet."
"James, I feel much better, really."
"Well all the same, I'd rather you stuck to that, and seeing as I am older than you, you have to do what I say," he grinned at her, flicking a stray lock of hair that had fallen across his face out the way as he hefted the largest of the two trunks towards the doorway.
She rolled her eyes and followed him out, more grateful than she would have liked to admit that he insisted on carrying both of their trunks.
Sirius closed the door behind himself and sank into a chair looking out at the London skyline. Downstairs he could hear his parents arguing again, he tried not to listen, flicking his radio on and closing his eyes. He'd be glad once it was time for him to go and visit James. He always forgot just how much he hated being at home. Mrs Black had grumbled all the way home about the company he kept and how it was such a shame that the wizarding youth of today were seduced by the flirtations of shameless mercenary mudbloods. That comment had made him shake with rage, and he had small crescent moon markings on his palms from where he had clenched his fists. It just wasn't worth the effort to shout and rage at his mother anymore. She wouldn't have listened to him anyway.
He wished for the thousandth time that Andromeda hadn't moved away. He knew that it was selfish of him, and her husband was a decent bloke. But all the same, he missed the company. The house was a lot quieter with her gone.
Sighing he pulled out a roll of parchment and began composing a letter to Remus, telling him about what had gone on during the journey back and any other thoughts that came into his head. Halfway through he paused and his eyes fell on the photos arranged on his desk. His room was filled with photos, they made him laugh, the thought of his friends made even the loudest row and most callous comment vanish in the memories of creeping round in the dark, stifling laughter with his hands.
His favourite one was taken the previous summer. The five of them were sat outside the Potter residence, they hadn't known Lily then, it was strange to realise that. It had been a brilliantly hot day and they were all around the pool. Peter and James were trying to push Remus into the pool as he held Saffron over water. She was squirming and mouthing all sorts of threats in the photo and Remus was busy trying to fend off the others, every now and then Peter would fall in the pool. Remus was a lot stronger than he looked.
Anyway, the thought of them made him smile and he carried on with his letter a smile on his face as there were crashes and the sound of breaking from downstairs.
A/N: Hmm, well I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but for the sake of going on with the story here it is. It's more of a transition chapter than anything. Thanks to all my reviewers, it was nice to see some new ppl joining the story. J Hmm, don't think I have anything else to add really. Review and let me know what you thought of the chapter!