Lily awoke at half ten the following morning. It was a moment before she realised why she felt so cold and miserable. If she made a single mistake today, it would cost at least one person their life.
"Morning sleepyhead!" James walked in with a breakfast tray laden with porridge and tea. "Thought you might want something to eat, with the day you've got ahead of you!"
Lily sat up so quickly that her heard began to spin. "What do you mean by that?"
"We've got duelling training at the ministry today! You haven't forgotten have you?"
"What? Oh! No, of course not!" Lily laid back down and shut her eyes. She had to get out of the training somehow in order to get to Welshpool at Midday. "Actually James, I'm not feeling that well!"
"Lily, this is important! We can't miss it!" James put the tray down at the foot of the bed and leaned over to feel her forehead. "You don't feel like you have a temperature."
"So? If I'm not feeling well I can't go! I've escaped Voldemort once already; I don't think some little man with a stick in his hand is going to teach me much more!" Lily said frustrated.
"But still… if Dumbledore says that it is worthwhile then I think we should make an effort! It's got to be better doing something than nothing at all!"
"I…do…not…want…to…go!" Lily said slowly through gritted teeth glaring at James.
"Then I'll stay with you! You need looking after!"
"I'm not three! For God's sake James! You go, I'll stay. Like you said we should be making an effort! It won't look good if neither of us turn up!" Lily cried.
"I'm just tying to be nice! Maybe you should try it; you have been really harsh lately!" James stood up from the bed. "I know you're upset about Caradoc disappearing and all that is going on but you don't have to take it out on me! We're supposed to be there for each other, not fighting one another!" he said and walked out of the room. Five minutes later he grudgingly yelled a farewell up the stairs and left through the front door.
Lily waited until she was sure there was no one in the house. She scrambled out of bed, knocking the porridge to the floor in the meantime. She rushed to the dresser and pulled the closest robe over her head, knocking all of her other items of clothing to the floor in the process. She ran into the bathroom and washed her face and teeth, and pulled her long red hair into a messy bun, so that it kept out of her eyes.
She leapt down the stairs two at a time, pausing at the bottom, only to check that the dusty dark bottle was still in her pocket, and that her husband's invisibility cloak was where he left it on the banister. She picked it up and stuffed it hastily into her pocket, accidentally knocking over a glass on the side as she did so. Water and glass flew everywhere, but Lily had no time to notice and she rushed into the sitting room.
James always had a habit of not putting things where they were meant to be, and Lily spent a frustrating three minutes, searching for the floo power, wrecking the room as she went. By the time she had disappeared into the fireplace, the sofa's had been upturned, the stuffing knocked out of the cushions, the coffee table was flung against the wall, and several more glasses smashed.
James arrived seconds after she had departed to check on her. He felt extremely guilty about the way he had spoken to her that morning; she was after all, still grieving for her friend. He was devastated to find the house empty, with no note. He walked from room to room, searching desperately for his wife, pausing in each to look at the damage. His heart rate quickened, and he felt sick. The last time he had seen a house in such a state was when he arrived at Caradoc Dearborn's house, just one day after he had been kidnapped by Voldemort. He sank to the floor, when his shaking limbs could no longer support him.
Lily walked out of the fireplace of an old cottage situated in the centre of Welshpool. She knew that she was only minutes away from the market place, where she supposed the death eaters were going to gather. But that was all the time she had- a few minutes.
She brushed off her robes briskly and ran out of the door, not caring whether the housekeeper heard the intruder or not. From her robes she pulled the invisibility cloak which she hid herself under, and the small dusty bottle.
Her pace quickened to a sprint as she heard the church bells chiming. Midday was fast approaching, and the market place was still two streets away.
As she ran, she uncorked the bottle, praying that she was not too late, that she would reach the young Black in time.
She turned the corner, and the market place came into sight. What she saw sickened her. The market stalls were upturned and on fire, and a group of people in long black cloaks and ghostly masks were standing together in the centre. Muggles cowered behind their burning stalls and in their doorways, too scared to run or call the police. "Where is Regulus?" she thought desperately looking around. Still invisible, she ran blindly into the market place and up to the death eaters.
Praying that none of them noticed her presence she checked to see that they were not hiding him. Satisfied that Regulus was not yet with the death eaters, she ran to the other side of the square to check that he was not hiding amongst muggles.
Twice she ran around the Market place, searching frantically, and trying to avoid being caught by the death eaters. Once or twice she overheard them questioning Snape's information about Regulus's whereabouts. Lily noticed Snapes eyes move quickly over the crowd several times, as though looking for a sign.
Finally when the church clock announced that the time was a quarter past Midday, she decided that there was no other choice. She walked boldly but quietly up to the group of death eaters. Snape was on the outside, which made things easier for Lily. She reached out with an invisible hand and placed it on Snape's shoulder. She felt him tense, but he said nothing.
Gently, Lily increased her pressure on his shoulder and pulled him backwards so that Snape was standing a small distance away from the others. Luckily they did not notice this move.
Leaning forward, Lily whispered into his ear. "It's me! I can't find him!"
Snape inclined his head and then walked forward, breaking contact with Lily as he went.
"He is hiding from us! We must divide and search separately!" he commanded to the gang of death eaters.
"Little Snapey is telling us what to do?" a masked women laughed scathingly.
"Have you any other idea's Bella?" was the reply. The woman fell silent and stalked off down one of the alleyways, her wand aloft. The others soon followed suit and disappeared though narrow arches, and down side roads. Snape turned on his heel and walked back down the road Lily had arrived on. As he went, his arms brushed against Lily's and she decided to follow him.
Together they walked down the winding road and then left at the end. They came to a tall brick wall, which sheltered some muggle recycling bins.
Snape scanned the area quickly and then said discreetly; "He is here, I had to hide him before the other death eaters could kill him."
Lily looked around and realised that he must be hidden inside of the bins. She watched as Snape walked over to the furthest one and removed the lid. A second man, young and hansom emerged and lowered himself onto the ground beside the bin.
"The potion Lily, and hurry. The others will be here any minute." Snape commanded quietly. Lily rushed forward with the bottle and lowered the hood of the cloak.
"It will be Ok, I promise. I'll see you soon." She said comfortingly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She handed the bottle over to Regulus who after one final look at Lily, downed the contents.
Lily and Snape watched and waited for the potion to take effect. They would hear footsteps further down the road, coming ever closer. Snape turned and roughly pulled the hood over Lily so that she was completely invisible. He took hold of her roughly by the shoulders.
"Lily, you must leave. Go back home and tell no one that you were here." He said.
"But the body…"
"The body will be taken by the authorities and placed in a morgue somewhere until the burial; you will have to steal it back. There is no more you can do here." Snape replied forcefully and pushed her backwards.
Lily hesitated; the footsteps behind her were getting louder.
"Go!" Snape hissed, and Lily began to walk backwards. In the moments before she turned and ran, she saw Regulus lurch forward, clutching at his heart. She backed up against the wall and let the death eaters run past, hoping that the process was now complete, and that Regulus was now seemingly dead. She heard the satisfied cackle of the woman death eater and realised that the potion must have worked. Without further hesitation she ran back to the old cottage to floo back home.
She exploded through the fireplace and toppled into the sitting room floor. Within seconds she was being pulled roughly to her feet and pulled into a tight hug.
"You're alive!" the deep voice repeated over and over, rocking her back and forth. She was surprised to find the house occupied, as James was not meant not be back for another three hours.
She pulled away from the man and saw that it was James, looking relieved and tearful. She had never seen James cry before, and immediately began to worry about what had gone so awfully wrong to make him so upset. She looked around the room and saw both Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were also there, looking thoroughly shocked. Remus and Sirius sat on the sofa on the other side of the room looking relieved, and there were also two official looking wizards standing by the door looking confused.
"What's wrong?" she cried clasping the front of James's robes. "Has someone died?"
"We thought you had Lily!" Sirius had stood up and was walking towards her. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I'm not dead!" she said shocked and confused as to what had made them think it.
"I came home to check on you, to find the house deserted and wrecked! I thought that they had come after you!" James gulped through tears, holding onto her more tightly.
"You all thought I had been taken?" Lily asked amazed.
"Where were you?" Sirius demanded. He looked angry now. "James's has been though hell! We were worried sick!"
"I'm sorry!" she gasped. "I realised that I had a hospital appointment and had to leave quickly!" she lied desperately.
"So why destroy the house in the process!"
"I was in such a rush I didn't realise! And then I couldn't find the floo powder so…" she trailed off looking at the faces of the people in the room.
"The important thing, is that you are safe." Dumbledore said finaly, getting to his feet and gripping Lily's arm comfortingly. "I shall see you all tomorrow."
One by one, the guests left, talking little and avoiding Lily's eyes. Finnaly James and Lily were the only ones left.
"Are you feeling better?" James asked hesitantly not looking her.
"I've felt better" she replied looking at her hands. "James I'm so sorry!"
"I'm just glad you're ok." he said placing an arm around her shoulder uncomfortably, leaving Lily to wonder what was happening to Regulus now, and when the wizarding world would discover his death.
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