tada! sorry for the delay my boss has gone phsyco with shifts! But it's here and the chapter after is in progress! Enjoy!

Friday morning arrived in no time at all.

Lily Potter sat in bed with her husband lying next to her, watching the room grow steadily lighter. In a few hours, she would leave her home, telling her friends and husband that she would be visiting her family when really she would be walking the countryside in search of a dead animal. She would then transport it to Hammersmith in London to swap Regulus's body with before the funeral guests would arrive to bury it.

After Regulus was safely out of harms way she would apparate to Nidderdale in Yorkshire, to Caradoc Dearborn's deserted house where she would leave him until the effects of the draught of the living dead had worn off.

"It's foolproof" she told herself over and over the previous days, however, now it was time to put her plan into action she began to doubt herself.

She picked up a book from the bedside table and began to read, to take her mind off of the task ahead.

"What are you doing?" James asked groggily from beside her.

"Reading" she replied turning the page. She continued in silence for a few minutes before closing the book and replacing it on the table.

"I thought it was rubbish too." James grinned sleepily. "All that mushy stuff made me want to puke!"

Lily looked at James. To be honest, she hadn't been reading at all. She was once again going over her plan, checking for loopholes or miscalculations. She supposed that it was due to worry that she was suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea.

She had grown so accustomed to these waves of sickness that she had taken to keeping a bucket by her bed. She turned quickly and slid off the bed to use it.

"When I said it made me want to puke, I didn't mean literally!" James exclaimed leaping out of bed and rushing to her side. He put an arm around her trembling figure and pushed the hair out of her eyes.

"Lily, love, I think you should stay home today." He said soothingly. "Visit your family another time."

Lily shook her head and leaned closer to her husband. "It's not healthy to stay cooped up in a house for too many days. It will do me good."

"I don't think so. You're no where near better; I'm going to owl a healer when we go downstairs for breakfast."

She sighed. It wouldn't do any harm.

"I'll see the healer, but I'm still going out. Gran knows better than anyone how to look after me. You can't beat her tomato soup!" she smiled hopefully.

"Not too sure about the soup love!" he laughed "But if you're sure you're up to it!"

"I'm sure! Besides I feel much better now" she replied, but was once again overcome with a feeling of nausea. When it passed, she stumbled into the bathroom for a shower while James went downstairs to get the breakfast on.

When she came back downstairs, she found James scribbling on a piece of parchment.

"I'm just owling the healer" he said when Lily gave him a questioning look. "And there's a package for you on the side, came by muggle post."

"Oh, it's just my um… new book on the Tudor Rebellions. Can't beat them Cornish rebels!" She forced a laugh as she picked up the package, feeling the familiar shape of the mirror underneath. She carefully opened the letter attached to it. It was from Regulus, he had sent it to her before the "murder" so that it wouldn't be kept at Grimmauld place. She placed it on top of the cupboards so that it would not be found.

"There must have been quite a few rebellions for a big book like that!" James laughed folding up the parchment and tying it to the leg of an owl.

"Yeah, a real rowdy lot those Tudors!"

She sat herself down and began to pour herself a coffee, trying to ignore the feelings of nausea and worry.

"Are you alright?" James asked her, sitting down opposite and buttering his toast.

"Fine." She replied quickly, adding a smile.

"Nothing you want to tell me?"

"No." James was watching her closely so she reached over and took his hand. "I'm really fine. Everything is going to be great. Really great."

James still looked suspicious but resumed buttering his toast all the same.

At half past ten, Lily put on her coat and kissed James goodbye.

"Are you sure you're ok?" James asked for the thousandth time.

"Yes!" she replied exasperatedly. "I'm much better now!"

"You threw up five minutes ago."

Lily shrugged her shoulders and stepped out of the house.

When she reached the end of the road, she checked that no one was watching, and she apparated to an old country road. The old farm house in the distance told her that there were animals nearby.

She walked desperately from one field to the next, through groups of cows, sheep and pigs but they were all alive.

"Why can't there just be a dead one?" she cried in frustration. She needed an animal to replace Regulus's body, but didn't think she had the courage to kill one.

She looked hopelessly around the animals, some contentedly chewing on the grass, others sleeping blissfully.

Disgusted with herself she drew her wand out of her pocket and turned it to a small calf, asleep in the corner of the field. It was about the right size, and if it was asleep it wouldn't know what was happening.

Knowing this didn't prevent the waves of guilt and nausea washing over her in tides. She took a deep, steadying herself before uttering the evil words.

"Avada Kedavra."

The calf started but did not have time to rise from its sleeping position. Appalled by her actions, she turned and retched.

After a few minutes, she realised that the morning was nearly over and she had to get to Hammersmith. Her watch told her that she had forty minutes until the funeral guests arrived to collect the body.

Gulping for breath she staggered over to where the calf lay and placed a hand on its leg.

"I'm so sorry" she whispered before turning briskly, apparating the calf and herself to the busy outskirts of central London.

She landed in a dark, dusty alleyway. She stood up and looked about her.

The sound of cars and trains from the nearby road were muffled by the dense, grubby buildings surrounding her. The smell of petrol and burned rubber filled the air, and the sky was thick with smoke.

She walked to the nearest building and hoisted herself up onto a bin in order to see through the window.

In the dim light she could see rows of coffins, lying side by side. She was in the right place.

Balancing on the side of the bin, she opened the window as far as it would go and pulled herself up onto the ledge. Checking that her landing space was clear she jumped and landed with the thud on the floor.

She winced as the pain hit her body. Trying to ignore the shooting pains in her feet and stomach, she looked desperately around for a way to get the calf in. There had to be a door.

Even by her wand light she could see that the only way to get Regulus's replacement into the room was through the window.

Checking her watch, she discovered that it was nearly half past. In a moment of desperation, she pushed one of the tables with a coffin on it, over to the window.

The coffin was huge, with a large gold plate in the middle, with the name "Florence Mariner".

"Sorry Florence!" she whispered to the coffin before climbing on top of it so that she would reach the high window.

Leaning out of it, she summoned the calf with her wand. She watched in repulsion as the dead animal came closer, its head lolling to the side and its legs hanging limply.

It reached the window and Lily pulled in its upper body with difficulty. Abandoning her wand she took hold of the animal's two front legs and pulled until the animal was nearly through.

Standing out of the way, on one side of the coffin, she pulled the rest of the animal into the room.

It fell and landed with a sickening crack. The impact of the animal knocked the coffin with Lily on top of it into the floor.

It was a few seconds before she remembered where she was. She sat up with difficulty, pushing her body up with the trembling arms. She looked around and realised that the coffin was lying upturned a few feet away.

Knowing that time was wearing thin; she went to stand up but found her legs obscured by a mound of heavy material. In frustration she kicked the material off of her legs and scrambled to her feet, clutching her stomach as she went, pain sweeping through her body. She looked down at the bundle of material on the floor and realised with the thrill of horror that it was poor Florence.

Fighting back the urge to throw up again, she raised her wand and levitated the mangled body of a middle aged woman back into her coffin. When the coffin was in the same position it had started in, she hastily walked around the room to find Regulus.

She found it in the corner, a small shabby wooden box, with a small brass plate. Hands shaking she lifted the lid and gazed down at her friends face. He looked dead. Pale and still, and for a full moment she even considered that Snape had actually killed him.

She stepped back and raised her wand, guiding Regulus's body over to a dark corner where she crouched down over him.

She pulled a light, silvery bottle from her pocket and removed the cork. Trembling she emptied the contents into his mouth.

"Wake up Regulus! I can't put the calf in by myself!" she whispered desperately, shaking her friends shoulders. If the effects of the draught of the living dead didn't wear off soon, then Lily would struggle to get him out of there in time.

She suddenly realised in a moment of horror that footsteps were making their way down the alleyway. She listened as they walked around to the back of the building where they stopped. She listened in terror as the sounds of a door being forced open reached her ears.

Panicking, she removed her cloak and wrapped it around her friend to hide him, and then realising that there was no where left to hide, she climbed inside his coffin and closed the lid.

yay! I know I said last chapter that this chapter would say the mystery guest and about Lily's illness, but I didn't expect this chapter to be so long, so it's in the second part, but most people have guessed anyway. So think of this as half a chapter or something! The other half is being writen!

Love

Lili

xxx

ps please review?