Disclaimer: I own nothing—I live in Iowa for heaven's sake! I do own anyone you don't recognize though, like Morlock and Gallanger and the 'mystery' man.

I hope you enjoy this next chapter. I had so much fun writing it. I realize that just reviewing just after you read isn't a huge interest, but I would sincerely appreciate if you just dropped a note telling me 'never to write again' or 'pack up, leave town, this crap sucks' or if you even enjoyed one small word in all the many.I love reviews, can't get enough of them, so please, hand out a few. GRACIAS. oh, and thanks for reading that paragraph. ;)

Please Review, gives me hope! Abarraine. 25 August 2005.


Upholding Loyalty: May Angels Lead You In


"I... who are you?" Lily demanded, finally coming to her senses. He may have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time, but that still did not excuse his presence in the Department of Mysteries. He shifted slightly, but was stopped immediately when Lily stepped on his wand, capturing it from him. Awarding herself an inward smile, she examined the man in front of her. The man who had hindered her path to James...

Throwing her bag unceremoniously on her kitchen table, Lily sighed heavily. Running her hands roughly over her pale face, she tried to suppress the sleep settling into her bones. She feared it would permanently remain there. Her hair was hot on her neck as she stood there, leaning over the table with her elbows. It almost consumed her at that moment, all she could feel was the heavy thickness of it weighing down on her shoulders. The need to removed it heightened as she shifted, groaning. She wiped her oppressive hair into a pony tail with her cold hands, slipping it hastily in place with a yellow rubber band.

Relishing the cool breeze touching her neck, Lily rolled her eyes at her ridiculous antics and pulled open the fridge. Groaning this time came from her middle as she eyed the unique assortment of food inside. A jar of sweet pickles, Velveeta cheese, ketchup, olives, apples, and milk. Seems James has gone shopping... I really should send him off with a list. Is there even bread? Lily's thoughts mulled about as she reached around the fridge to the bread box, happily finding a load of whole wheat bread. Her favorite; extra kiss for James in the morning. Glancing up, Lily's tired eyes found the wall clock precisely reading 2:12 A.M. This is ridiculous; most common, ordinary — sane, people have been asleep for at least three sodding hours.

Succumbing to her need for nourishment, Lily grabbed two slices of bread, and hounded the fridge for decent condiments for her sandwich. In a small side door Lily found half a pound of fresh smoked turkey. She blessed it and manufactured her sandwich out of pickles, turkey and mustard, which had been hidden behind the milk and ketchup. Dining alone had become a common occurrence to Lily, although not quite as common as bare-minimum sandwiches.

And there she was, in all her glory. Miss Lilea Evans, aged twenty-two eating a not-so-hearty sandwich in the dim lighting of her fiancée's house at 2:20 in the bloody morning. What had become of her life? She'd rarely seen her friends in the last few weeks. Ea was now dating another fellow Lily had yet to meet, by the sound of it they were getting a might bit serious. Remus had been busy hopping from job to job, he'd taken the time to stop by the other night, catching her up on hilarious details of his layoff's (more particularly being the craven expression his boss' faces took once they learned of his lycanthropy).

And that was just the tip of the ice burg, she tried to remember, through her pounding headache, when the last time she had seen Sirius Black; the ever effervescent one of the group. She really needed to cut back on her work hours... possibly hire a few more trustworthy employees, especially since Morlock up and ratted on the whole department then went and knocked it off for himself.

Perhaps she shouldn't hire anymore, what if they follow his example? How was she to know who was completely truthful and who wasn't? And then, what if the Death Eaters really do know everything about the Unspeakables now? Would bringing new members onto the staff create more targets for Voldemort? Perhaps, Voldemort didn't know a thing at all, perhaps Morlock died in good graces, upholding his loyalty to her. She could be fretting for nothing.

Then, blast it, what if Voldemort does know everything? This could be the very last unsatisfying sandwich she ever ate. Lily's shoulders gave as she slouched in her chair, head in hands. Heaving, dry sobs racked her petite body as she tried to hold in all the emotions that had passed through her the last twenty-four hours. Harder as she try, silence evaded her and she sobbed openly onto the wooden table under her.

As her soul gave out under the pressure she became cold with uncertainty and fear. The arms that scooped her up then were a blessing she'd been praying for all day. The strong, warm chest offered her a new canvas to soak with her salty tears. Raining tender kisses over her mussed hair, James held his love tightly in a protective grip. She shook unsuppressed tears out of her emerald eyes, leaning into his warmth and hiding there. For minutes on end he rocked her back and forth, whispering sweet reassurances into her ears. Slowly Lily's sense of loss and helplessness froze away as she looked into the gentle eyes of James and relaxed, sniffing softly with a small smile sliding onto her blotchy face.

"What is it Love, what's got you so riled?" His voice was deep and soothing to her ears. Sighing, she sank further into him before replying.

"Haven't you been briefed? The worst is yet to come— what is this life all about? I try my hardest to protect the innocent, and yet there are still demented people out there trying their darnedest to undo it and... and slaughter them—" Lily chocked back a sob, living deeply in a world so full of hate. "Why?" She found herself pleading to James for the answer. What could possibly be the why of it all?

"Oh bloody hell." James whispered soulfully concerned. He gathered her in his arms further and took her to the couch, leaving the light off. He settled down beside her, bringing his arm around and hugging her tightly. Her sobs had stopped and she looked through the dark into his eyes, those eyes she had memorized by heart. She could read his heart through those eyes most days.

"Lily, my God, I didn't want to believe it as true." Fatigue was evident in him as he raked his hand through his hair, vividly showing his nervousness. "Moody versed me on the situation. He distinctly told me we couldn't verify anything yet. I mean, what if Morlock was good at heart and let out erratic information, turning Voldemort away from you—"

"or to us." Lily whispered. "It has to be true, doesn't it? I mean why would they kill Morlock— oh, James, they would kill him if they found he was lying..."

"Yes, but why kill their only source of knowledge, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them — an unspeakable in their hot possession. They could have used any means of getting the information out of him. So possibly... sodding hell, Lily. Voldemort could know—"

"everything." Lily finished for him, horrified.

The two sat in silence watching the clock tick down the seconds of the night. Lily's mind was flooded with ways of escaping from her current position situated in James' arms. Her mind drifted to what exactly Voldemort would know. The positions of all the aurors, the location of their training facility, bearings of classified documents about apprehended Death Eaters, and most importantly; passwords, solved codes, identities...

Lily's heart thundered in her chest. Her world was literally crashing down around her. Sure she had James, she had her friends, she had Petunia— though just in thought— she had her co-workers who would put their lives in front of hers. But, she couldn't help but feel that none of that would matter anymore. It was all crumbling and no one, nothing, could save her. James looked so serene, gazing out into the dark void of the house, through the window and into the rainy street setting. Distant street lights suggested the house's location was in a Muggle vicinity.

Would all this be destroyed once the inevitable came? Her house here with James? The small, quaint houses of the neighbors? The rich green grass of summer? The old park down the road where James and her and spent many days swinging and picnicking— following the romantic examples of James' whims.

He was so sweet to her. Looking back now, she couldn't believe all he had given to her. Most importantly— strength. The courage to move on, open that new door and walk through with your head held high. She'd been a complete mess when her parents had been murdered. Voldemort had sought them out, killed them in cold blood. What was stopping him now from taking such drastic measures on her?

Lily shivered despite being in James' warm, powerful arms. She felt him glance over at her, and gently pull her to him, she buried her head in his chest as he wrapped both his arms around her petite body. The warmth burned away many of Lily's pessimistic thoughts. She could deal with death now if James was holding her this tight, she had already done that once before. What could stop her now?

Breathing slowly, contently, was the dominant sound heard that night as they sat on the couch while the rain spitted against the window. The curtains remained still and the kitchen light held a sense of security for the couple.

"James? I just remembered a thought I was going to tell you." Lily whispered, righting herself in James' arms. He titled his head and set her with a respectful gaze. "I was walking through the Unspeakable section of the Ministry, after just leaving my office and I heard an atypical noise. So, I pulled out my wand, held it at the ready and kept going. Then I realized that the noise was a person—"

"What the sodding hell is someone doing in your section of the ministry that late at night? I've always told you not to work late— there are vile people out there." James snapped at Lily. She rolled her eyes, tired of his protective nature for just this once.

"James, I realize there are twisted individuals out at night, but I'm not a baby and I wish not to be treated as such." Huffing she shoved her legs up to her chest.

"I know, Love, but I can't have you getting yourself killed. It'd ruin me." He kissed her softly on the cheek to seek his point. "Now, Lils, what were you getting at? You're in one piece here tonight, so you must have come out the victor? yeah?" Lily snuggled again, agitation at him gone for the moment.

"There was positively no light in my section of the Ministry so I hid beside a cubical to wait for the unidentified man." James groaned at 'man'. "When I finally saw him, we started dueling, not intensely... actually, it was pretty much rubbish. We both had to dive for our wands." Lily twisted so she was looking at James. "I retrieved mine first and disarmed him. I took him down to management and locked him in a holding cell until they clear him tomorrow. They're running his profile and such to find anything incriminating. Heavens, I sure hope they do."

"Who was it?" His eyes betrayed an uneasy emotion. She bit her lip and glanced at her engagement right. A small diamond set in the middle of two simpler emeralds on a thin gold band. Delicate yet beautiful was the way James had described it. 'I didn't want you to have to carry a huge weight on your finger, Love, I thought this was perfect.' And it was truly beautiful. A tear sprung to her eyes as she recalled the memory of the night he had asked her to be his.

They had set off on a backpacking trip through Lyon, Geneva, and then through the Swiss Alps. They had been looking forward to the trip since leaving Hogwarts. Making it easily through western France, they had gazed up at the mighty Alps with such anticipation that they left behind their guide. They had chuckled, teased, held gloved hands, sung off key to keep the silence at bay, and at night, snuggled in their sleeping bags as the snow fell onto their tent.

While making through a higher elevated pass one day during the trip, James had stopped her in the midst of the evening, looking severely shy. So much out of his character that she was intrigued.. The fire was burning brightly and they had filled themselves with numerous s'mores when James had gone down on one knee, completely soaking his jeans.

The question, the ring, her James was the epitome of perfect. His burnt shoe, wet knees, and all. And here they were, successfully home from wandering around the Alps, yet still in significant danger. Perhaps the Alps held more security for them, it'd always be a revered place to them now. A place where they could label a inclination in their relationship. Lily longed for the mountains, their gigantic beauty and long-held wisdom.

"Lily?" James prodded. "Who was it?" She sighed, fatigue almost taking over.

"Some new intern, said he had been working late hours, as I had. But I'm not sure I remember a new intern, and not one in my section. He seems utterly suspicious to me. I'll be keeping a close eye on the lad." James shook his head, running through what she had said. In a way, it proved to justify why he had been there, yet the unanswered question Lily kept asking was still prodding the back of his mind. What was he doing in the Unspeakable wing?

"His name's Jakob Dvorak, just a might out of Hogwarts is what he said, aged nineteen."

"I should have waited for you."

"What?" Lily whipped out of her thoughts with a frown. "No, James. It was my own bloody fault. I should have respected your wishes, Ea's wishes and come home at a decent hour. But blast me, I feel asleep—"

"Dreaming of me, Love?"

"You just wish." Lily giggled, stretching and yawning.

"Oh, sure, like that snog before dinner wasn't record breaking? You were still dazed when I left."

"Was not, you rotting bugger." Lily twisted away from his hands as they came around her setting her rightfully on his lap.

"Shall I daze you more then, Love?" James asked huskily.

"Be my guest. I need a break from reality."


And there you have chapter four. mushy gushy isn't it? I did enjoy writing it too, the majority was written around the midnight hour the other night. Please review, tell me what ya think! adios!

I'll be sending a heaping plate of warm chocolate chip cookies to all my chapter 3 reviews. I love you all to death. You're amazing, spectacular, fantastic, glorious, wonderful, super-d-duper, and just plain snazzy. thank you! HarryluvsMoaningMyrtle, Catchy Pen Name ;), Crystal Kisses, GSCer, NKB, Marauder Megan, and Betsy. THANK YOU.

Abarraine.