Chapter One: Brave Risks

*AN: This story takes place right after the marauders would have graduated from Hogwarts (Around 1978)*

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

Lily Evans strode down the dingy alleyway towards the rather dirty red brick apartment building, cheap enough for two Gryffindors straight out of Hogwarts to afford. The slightly cramped apartment was just outside of London. Home sweet home… As she unlocked the door, she was greeted by a friendly welcome from her roommate, Addilyn Lovelace. Addilyn flipped her long chocolate-colored hair over her shoulder and rushed towards Lily excitedly. Lily wondered if it was the anticipation of the news she brought or simply the fact that tomorrow was their first day of auror training.

"Did you find anything new?" Addilyn inquired. Lily went on to tell Addilyn how she had met up with the frightened neighbor who had called the girls in a panic. The lady had informed Lily that the next death eater meeting would take place later tonight; the old lady had overheard several death eaters arguing in the street. The location would be the Avery's manor house. The Averys were a prominent pureblood family who had been in with the death eaters since the rise of Voldemort. The caring old lady also told Lily that tonight there would be a party at the manor for the sole purpose of keeping the meeting secret.

Both girls were visibly unsettled by the time they got to the manor. Although inexperienced aurors, they knew that they needed to scope out the situation before calling for help. They did not want to bother the ministry with a false alarm, especially the night before their first day of training… How would that look?

They stood before the shadowy place that shone in the fading light. The towering manor house stood six stories tall, and with the spires on the four towers, it felt almost palatial. It was intimidating, to say the least. For a minute they both wanted to turn back.

Taking a deep breath, Addilyn glanced at Lily, who was still transfixed by the ominous building. "Are you ready?" Addilyn asked. Lily tore her gaze away and nodded determinedly.

Standing in the enormous entryway they could hear classical piano music; one of Beethoven's pieces. They followed the music down a short corridor until they were in the hallway outside of the ballroom. Addilyn and Lily took one look at each other before performing a spell on themselves so they would fit in with the crowd of wealthy individuals. Lily wore a halter-top dress of dazzling turquoise. Addilyn was clad in a rose-red a-line dress that went well with her brunette hair.

In the midst of the crowd, they looked around awkwardly. Now that they were actually here, they realized that they had absolutely zero idea what to do. It wasn't like there was a sign that said "Death Eater Meeting This Way!"

They were going to discreetly search the room for any hidden details when an unknown hooded figure roughly pushed past them. Addilyn nudged Lily forwards. The figure walked hurriedly to the back of the room. Here it was shady and gloomy-avoided by the crowd. Lily and Addilyn watched from behind two gray and white marble pillars as the figure glanced around suspiciously.

The cloaked figure then pulled a shiny red apple from their sleeve. "An Apple?" Lily mouthed at Addilyn incredulously. Addilyn shrugged. Your guess is as good as mine. The apple glowed green with the silhouette of a dark mark. Then the figure disappeared, leaving only the apple behind.

After the figure had vanished, the girls came out from their hiding spot and stared at the apple. "What is this: Snow White?!" Lily asked sarcastically. Addilyn shot her a look, slightly annoyed. Lily bent to inspect the apple.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea…" Addilyn began, but Lily had already picked up the apple and was clutching it in her right hand. She stood like that for a moment and then disappeared just as the figure had. Despite her doubts, Addilyn wasn't far behind her.

The girls appeared in the immense basement of the manor. Voices floated up from a stairway to their left. The girls cautiously stepped down the stairs, wands in hand. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a sign pointing around the corner that read "Death Eater Inauguration This Way →".

"Well, that's handy…" Addilyn muttered.

They turned around the corner and before they had time to react, they were right in the middle of a grimy, crowded room. The hooded figure turned towards them and pulled down his hood. Lily inadvertently started; the person behind the hood was immediately recognizable. Curtains of greasy black hair and cold, unfathomable black eyes. Bad memories flooded her mind. It was Severus Snape… Snape's eyes widened with shock, and he visibly paled.

"INTRUDERS!" The world seemed to fast-forward again as one of the amateur death eaters shouted and pointed at them. Lily blinked, and the next second chaos broke out.

One of the death eaters shot a curse at them. "Protego!" Addilyn reacted just in the nick of time. More attacks followed. Although their protective spells and battle instincts were helping, it was fifteen against two. In other words, it was hopeless. Well, more like thirteen against two; Snape had been frozen in place since he had spotted Lily, and there was another death eater who was simply leaning against the back wall. With dark hair and grey eyes, he was undeniably handsome and oddly familiar.

"Crucio!" They hardly dodged the last curse and the battle was worsening. They had made it this long without getting hit by sheer luck. "Periculum!" Addilyn shot red sparks into the air, a signal for help. The wizard version of a 911.

Ten minutes passed before help arrived in the form of experienced aurors. Those ten minutes seemed like an eternity. During that time, Lily had gotten a confundus charm to the head, and Addilyn had begun to retreat to the hallway dragging Lily with her.

Then help had arrived- the girls recognized the renowned Aurors: Podmore, Dwalish, and Jones. A crew of other aurors rushed in after them. Jones turned to the girls and flipped her hair. "We appreciate the help, but now you should get to safety-we've got this covered."

*AN: This is my first fanfic so please review!*