hiya! new chapter- hope you enjoy!

"I still can't believe it!" James said pacing around his front living room. "I knew he wasn't exactly on our side but I never thought he would actually go over to the dark side."

Sirius sighed deeply "I can't believe he'd be that stupid!"

"And I can't believe you would betray your own brother by telling the order about him!" Lily said furiously getting to her feet and glaring down at Sirius. "He is a year younger than us! He is only eighteen! And now the auror's are going to hunt him down and kill him! Does he really deserve that?"

"How can you stick up for him?" Sirius cried leaping to his feet, towering over Lily. "It's because of people like him that good people like Caradoc Dearborn are gone! He'll never be seen again- like the McKinnon's and the Bones! Did they deserve that!"

"I know it's not nice to kill anybody Lily, but if it was a choice between a good person and an evil one, there is no comparison!" James agreed with Sirius coming to stand beside him.

"Do you honestly think that Regulus is capable of killing innocent people?"

"I honestly don't know anymore- I never thought he would actually become a death eater but I was wrong about that!" Sirius sank back onto the sofa.

"He's eighteen!" Lily was enraged. "He's hardly going to destroy the order with one flick of the wand is he?"

"There is only a few months age gap between Snape and Regulus, and we know Snape murdered Edgar Bone's little son! If Snape can do that- so can Regulus." James sat beside Sirius.

"Then you don't know Regulus as well as you should then- he's your younger brother Sirius, you're meant to protect him, not betray him!"

"What makes you think that you know my brother more than me?"

"That is irrelevant Sirius; he is still your brother!"

"You would have done the same if it had been your sister"

"The difference is that there is no good in my sister, but there is in Regulus" Lily screamed and walked out of the room. The two men listened to the front door being slammed.

"How can she say that?" James looked shocked. "She hates death eaters- and she got on so well with Caradoc, and now she is defending the people who killed him? Defending people who are trying to kill us!"

"I know. But whatever she said, I still know I made the right decision telling the order about him." Sirius replied looking at James. "You're the only brother I'll ever need."

"Love you brother."

"Love you too."

"I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm doing this…" Lily paced about the street of Spinner's End, preparing herself for a meeting with Snape. She had got his address from someone she knew in Knockturn alley. She convinced herself that she was doing the right thing, Snape might be a death eater but she did not think that Snape would kill her.

Taking a deep breath she stepped up to the door and knocked twice. She was suddenly aware of how cold it was; the November air drifted about her ankles, sending shivers down her spine. Her breathing increased from nerves and her wand hand was shaking so violently, she doubted whether she could defend herself if Snape got violent.

She heard from behind the door slow, heavy footsteps coming closer and closer. She held her breath and watched the door handle turn.

The heavy door creaked open to reveal a tall man with long, sweeping black robes.

"Severus, before you do anything…"

"Come in Lily" he held open the door and gestured for her to enter. She stepped over the door mat cautiously and looked around.

The house was small and dark with little furniture or comforts. A solitary candle sat upon a table littered with important looking documents that Snape hastily snatched up and crammed into a draw.

"How can I help you?" although Snape did not sound angry or dangerous, Lily noted a harshness that she had not heard at Hogwarts.

"It's Regulus Black."

"I see." Snape raised his eyebrows and sat into a chair with ease.

"We have to help him Severus!" Lily cried kneeling in front of him.

"I warned him and he took no notice, there is only so much I can do without the Dark Lord suspecting anything!"

"He made a mistake joining up, he knows that now!"

"And what do you want me to do?" Snape stared at Lily. Lily looked away.

"I have one idea."

"And that is?"

"I need you to convince Voldemort that Regulus is dead." Lily chanced a look at Snape. He merely sat there.

"And what, exactly, do you plan to do?"

"I'm going to give him draught of the living dead. His family and friends, Voldemort if he needs proof, will see the body and believe that he has died. He then hides somewhere. Maybe until Voldemort has gone."

Snape gave a snort of disbelief at her last statement.

"And why, would I want to help him?"

"You would be helping me too Severus." Lily took Snape's hands in her own, and he did not pull away. "It's the least you could do after all the times I defended you at school!"

"I didn't need your help!" Snape leered and pulled his hands away from her.

"Please, I can't do this on my own!" Lily cried. "You-know-who would believe it was true if you said you killed him!"

Snape looked at her thoughtfully. "If I agree, you must never tell anyone else, and you must leave me alone."

Lily nodded hopefully. "And we carry on as we always do. I am a death eater; you are a member of the order. If I get the chance to kill you, I would, and vice versa."

Lily nodded again. "So you'll do it?"

"You should know, the Dark Lord has asked me to kill Regulus tomorrow anyway- it is obvious that he will not go ahead with killing his brother, which counts as betrayal to the death eaters."

Lily looked into his eyes. "Will you go ahead with my plan?"

"Yes."

"we're doing it tomorrow midday. Just turn up then in Welshpool and go from there." Snape stared. "You'll be there?"

"I'll be there" Snape agreed and showed her to the door.

Lily waited until James was out at Quidditch practice with Sirius before she ran upstairs and locked the bedroom door. She flung herself under the bed and pulled out a badly wrapped package.

She ripped the old rag off of the object and let the dusty mirror fall to the floor.

"Please work!" she prayed silently, rubbing the dirt and what looked like purple toothpaste off of it. When she was satisfied that it was clean enough, she held it at head height and said clearly "Regulus Black!"

For a moment or two nothing happened. Lily was left staring back at her own, scared reflection. Suddenly, the appearance in the mirror changed, and Lily was looking at the handsome face of Sirius's brother.

"Full of surprises you are!" he said wearing a very Sirius like grin. "Have you had any other brain waves?"

"I have as a matter of fact!" Lily smiled and pulled a dusty glass bottle containing a dark liquid, out of her robe pocket.

"And, that is?"

"Draught of the Living Dead." She announced proudly. "Made it this morning!"

"Right, so you're going to pretend to kill me?"

"No, Severus is."

Regulus paled slightly. "Can we trust him?"

"We have no choice, he is being sent to kill you tomorrow anyway. At least this way you have a chance. I'm going to give you the potion, and then take your body from the Morgue. I'll put stones in your coffin or something- I haven't figured it all out yet. And then you have to go into hiding."

"You're plan doesn't seem very rigid." He said looking weary.

"Regulus, you're being hunted tomorrow, they want to kill you! The important thing is to get you out of the way and then work out what to do! I promise, I'll do everything I can to help you! You have to trust me!"

Regulus looked at her green eyes and sighed. "Ok. I trust you. What do I have to do?"

"Just be in Welshpool tomorrow, at Midday. Just spend some time with your mum and dad tonight. It will be Ok."

"See you then Lily."

"Goodnight."

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LILI

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