Alright, the moment you've all been waiting for! drum roll The last chapter of the story! People cheering I can't believe it's coming to an end! Well, this story at least. Well, here you go!

Chapter 12

When Lily could finally comprehend the voices around her, she listened intensely.

"Why isn't she waking up!"

"Did they ever recover that globe?"

"Of course they did, didn't you see it? Pro. Potter had to have the Seer come in and pick it up for him. It's in his office right now."

"It's a good thing they sent in James for help that quick."

"It's a good thing that James got help for them really quick."

All of the talk was hurting Lily's head. She tried to tell all the voices to shut up, but her tongue was swollen from being dry and she couldn't get a word out. She opened her eyes. The room was dim, that was a good thing. She saw several people grouped around her bed and another bed right next to hers.

"Minister, what are you going to do about this?" came a female voice.

"You have to understand ,Alex, that he disappeared before we could apprehend the young man. I have five Aurors searching for him this minute." This voice came from a young man. Just then, Lily's dad looked over to her bed and saw that she was awake. He walked over and took her hand. He looked very tired and worry was etched on his face. He gave her a smile.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Lily tried to say, but once again, her tongue prevented her. Harry got the idea and conjured up a glass of water. He handed it to her and she drank it in one gulp.

"My head." Lily croaked. "Where's the globe? Is it safe? What about Ryan?" Harry held up a hand before she could say anymore.

"Calm yourself, Lily. First of all, the globe is safe in my office. But unfortunately, Ryan got away before we could capture him." Lily noticed that her dad sported a bandaged arm and some slight burn marks on his face.

"Dad, what happened?" Lily asked.

" I had to fight Ryan from killing you and Elizabeth." he said, casually. "It's a good thing James came when he did."

"Where is Elizabeth?" Lily asked, now remembering that she had been in the fight too.

"She's in the bed next to you. She's still out, considering that she got a worse beating than you did."

"What happened to her?" Lily asked.

"Well, she got a broken ankle and arm, she had a punctured lung, but that was fix immediately, a bad burn on her left cheek, and cuts and bruises. She'll be fine." Harry said quickly when he saw his daughter's expression of fear.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked.

"Well, you had a fracture in your skull and some cuts and bruises, and a broken wrist, but that's all. That's why your head hurts."

"Who's that man and woman over there?" Lily asked.

"That's Percy Wesley, the Minister of Magic, and that's Alex Shaw, Elizabeth's mother." Harry answered.

"Like I've been telling you for years, even your top Auror won't catch him. You need an expert, who knows how to predict him."

"I will not send you on this case. It's too dangerous, and you're my top Auror; I can't risk you like that."

"So you're putting my daughter in danger instead, then." came the tart reply.

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant." he replied quickly. "I need you here, not chasing some criminal."

"He's not just some criminal. He's the son of the Dark Lord." Alex said. "And my step-son. Kinda." A chocking sound came from the Minister. "Like you didn't know that, Perc."

"I've just forgotten, Alex, that you were once married, if you can call it that, to the Dark Lord." the Minister replied.

"Listen, I have to go. I have to get another lead on that case you gave me." Alex said, walking out of the hospital wing. "Good night, Minister, Headmaster, Professor." She nodded to each as she said their name.

"Good night, Alex." Harry replied. "We'll get you the instant Elizabeth wakes up."

"Thank you, Harry. I appreciate that." She left the room. Percy buried his face into his hands.

"Harry, this is the third time that this young man has escaped from us. We just can't seem to catch this one."

"He's using his father's advice." Harry said quietly. He then turned to Lily. "You better get some sleep. You have exams in two days." Lily sighed.

"I was hoping to get some studying in." she replied, grinning at her dad. He walked over to the door and the lights dimmed more until it was completely dark in the room. Lily shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Lily was once again released from the hospital wing. Elizabeth was awake, but still was in the infirmary. Janet crushed her into a huge hug when she spotted Lily.

"Oh, we were so worried about you and Elizabeth. Your dad and James told us all about it." she said. Lily looked around for Ian, but he was no where to be seen. Dejected, Lily say down at the table to eat some breakfast.

"So what's the first exam?" she asked Janet, who was pilling eggs and some casserole onto her plate.

"Charms." she said right before stuffing a huge forkful of casserole in her mouth.

"Good, something that I did get to study for last evening." Lily muttered to herself. "Where's your brother?"

"Well, I haven't seen him since your battle." Janet replied. "He was pretty worried about you."

"How long was I out for?" Lily asked, buttering her roll.

"Well, for about four days." came the answer. Lily chocked on her orange juice.

"That long?" she said, shocked.

"Well, yea. You fell pretty hard on your head."

"Oh."

"Lily, it's ok. Haven't you been out for longer than that?"

"I don't know."

"Well, let's get off this subject. We better get to class before we're late."

Lily finally got done with all the exams and relaxed some. Elizabeth was going to be released the next day, and Lily didn't know if Elizabeth was still mad at her for following her. That morning at breakfast, all the second years were given papers.

"What's this?" Janet asked.

"It's new subjects for next year." Lily replied. She checked off Arithmancy, Divination, Muggle Studies, and Ancient Studies.

"Hmmm. I think I'll take Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies." Janet murmured. Just then, Lily's owl, Jasmine, landed right in the middle of her breakfast, and dropped a letter in front of her. Lily opened it.

"Dear Lily,

Hey, meet me at the lake at noon."

Lily knew who the letter was from a folded it up and stuffed in her bag. She checked her watch. It was only nine. So she went up to the common room and visited Elizabeth.

"Hey, I really sorry I butted into your personal business." Lily apologized.

"It's alright. I'm actually glad you were there. But now we have to be more careful. He won't stop for anything, though we are young." Elizabeth replied. She had just finished her exams that day. They talked for a long time, speculating where Ryan might have run off to. Lily checked her watch and realized that she was late for her meeting.

"Hey, Elizabeth, I have to go now. See you later." Lily replied, getting up from her chair.

"Ok, see you later." she shouted after Lily, who was already running out the portrait hole. She ran all the way out of the castle and onto the grounds. She was breathless by the time she arrived at the lake. There was Ian, sitting on the edge, throwing rocks into the lake. He turned when she turned up.

"You're late." he said, calmly. He had no smile on his face. They looked at each other for a long time until he broke into laughter. He got up and hugged her. "I've missed you." he whispered, kissing her lightly on the head.

"I didn't see you when I got out of the hospital wing." Lily said,

"Oh, well, I was busy." Ian said, grinning. "So what did you pick for new classes?"

"Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Studies, and Divination." Lily said. Ian gave her an astonished look.

"I picked the same classes." he exclaimed. Lily laughed at his amazement.

"I have to pack for tomorrow." Lily said.

"Yea, I guess so. Well, see you at the feast." Ian said.

That night, Harry announced the winners for the House Cup, which was Gryffindor, of course, and the feast began. Finally they all went up to the dormitories and packed for the trip home the next day. Once again, Lily had mixed feelings about leaving. But, by the next day, she was ready to go home. She and all of her friends shared a compartment without any interruptions. As she walked through the barrier, Lily wondered what adventure awaited her this summer and the next school term. And she would face it when it came.

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Well, that was the end! But don't worry, I already have the first chapter of the next story ready to post so, as soon as I post this, the next story will be up! Thanks for reading! HPGirl7:)