The Flower Grows chp 4
Sequel to the Flower's story
"Where secrecy reigns, carelessness and ignorance delight to hide while skill loves the light."
-Gelman, Daniel C.
Diagon Alley has history, it will continue to make history, and that history shall always be stored in a safe place. And of course the safest place to store anything in Diagon Alley was Gringrotts, the Wizarding bank. And Gringrotts is exactly where Sirius Black was heading. The streets were quiet today, there were a fair amount of people but the sunny day seemed to have driven people away from the shops and towards a less errand full approach to this beautiful day. The air was crisp and there was a light breeze which when entwined with the warmth of the sun, gave you such a sensation of calm that shopping was probably one of the last topics on your mind. Sirius himself never had a knack for shopping…except when it came to pulling pranks. He knew exactly where and when to go to a spot to find the perfect items. For certain merchandise is only on sale certain times of the year…in his days as a Hogwarts Marauder…he kept a calendar for these sorts of events.
But today he could not enjoy a stroll about a park, perhaps a boat ride, or what he most longed for, a ride on his flying motorcycle. He had made James (and unknown to her, Lily) a promise. In his pocket was a green gem so powerful that if held to the light you could actually feel the power surging through your eyes and into your soul, as if someone had given you an infection of adrenaline pumping though your veins giving you strength to perform whatever tasks. Sirius had wished that James and Lily had not rushed into this power protection act so quickly…especially without consulting with Dumbledore. Yes he understood why Lily had wanted to do it but when it came down to it, it was unnatural.
This was something no matter how many times Lily tried to repress, it would resurface. Because it was part of her history, her family history, something like that can't be hidden. One day, probably soon, she would have to come face to face with it…except next time she won't have Dumbledore counseling her with what to do. So Sirius stood facing Gringrotts while rolling his fingers through the package that was slightly emitting a light. James had given him a certain amount of Galleons so that they could have a high security vault…for if anyone got their hands on this object it would be the end of Lily's control. But something scared Sirius, for even as he twirled the object around his fingers in his robe pocket, he felt the power transferring from the gem and through his veins.
The next few weeks were in the simplest term; refreshing. Lily, once out of Saint Mungo's felt as if a weight had been lifted from within her soul. She couldn't remember feeling this light and care-free in such a long time. The moment she stepped back into the muggle world and the cool air hit her face, Lily felt as though her breathing the London air was the first breath she ever took. It was fresh and revitalizing, as if coming up from staying underwater for too long a time. But it wasn't just the feel of the cool air rushing down her lungs that pulled her into this new state of being. it was the way her entire body felt. Her skin was tingling, her blood pulsing, she even thought that her eyes saw clearer than they ever had before. In fact, although she felt slightly guilty, because her heart was so lifted she couldn't even bring herself to cry when James, Sirius, and Tasha were called back to Auror training camp.
The few days that James and Lily had together after her release from Saint Mungo's were spent lolling about, doing nothing. Sitting by a fire, walking in the nearby parks, even shopping was enjoyable to James! Who also felt that shopping meant running into a Quiditch shop to look over the newest supplies and catch up on the latest teams or collecting the latest pranking methods so he could relive his infamous days as Head trouble Maker at Hogwarts. But this time, they just wanted to be with each other…who knew when they would see one another again.
The day before the three of them left, Lily was strolling back up the walkway towards the front door when she noticed something odd. She felt a tingling on the back of her neck, that feeling that makes your hair stand on end. Like there was somebody holding a feather less than an inch above your neck, yet you had no way to prove that was even there in the first place. She spun around quickly looking all around her, bringing the short defensive training she had at Saint Mungo's to the working part of her brain. The hospital had made all new members of the staff , especially those working in her unit, undergo a brief two week defensive combat course. After the things that Lily has gone through over her years at Hogwarts…she didn't feel she needed it. However, at this moment, she wished she had more.
She pulled her wand from her robe pocket and held it up as if posing to cast a curse at someone. She stood extremely still, the only part of her body that she moved was her head as it scanned the area across the road and around the large front yard that belonged to the Potter house. But there was nothing around. She thought she saw the tail of some animal swipe around tree across the road, but she tried to convince herself it was just her imagination. She was just probably more stressed out over her friends' leaving then she realized. Yet…something about her defensive stance was odd…thinking back on her brief training sessions, she hadn't learnt any defensive poses…that seemed to have come naturally from within her. It seemed as though she already knew how to fight, the stance, the alertness, the skill of observation; it seemed in no other words…natural. Again…this must be stress; hanging around with training Aurors was just too much. It was one thing for Sirius' natural ability to annoy a person to rub off on her, but now they're strict training? If she didn't watch it she would become as bi-polar as that insane mutt. With one last glance around her she slipped her wand back into her robe pocket and walked through the front door.
So that night they all sat around the fire (minus Remus who seemed to be absent more and more lately) just chatting and bantering about old times and Lily felt that feeling on her neck again. She swiped around quickly and saw nothing. James gave her a funny look, but exchanged motivated glance with Sirius. Lily then realized she was being a tad too paranoid…also James' hand had been resting on the back of her neck…that must have been it…
"Are you all right love?" James asked Lily pulling her up onto his lap. She had been sitting on the floor in front of him and him on the sofa behind her.
"Er..yes! Yes I'm fine…I just thought I saw something. Out of the corner of my eye…but it was nothing." He grinned at her with a questioning eye "I'm not going crazy James, it was nothing!"
"Fine, as long as you're sure!" He sighed and clasped his arms around her waist as she laid back against his chest, turning her head slightly so she could give his neck a little kiss
"I think Lily has taken one too many knocks to the noggin if you ask me." Sirius commented across the sitting table.
"That's only because living with you is such a hazard, Sirius." Sirius winked at her and went back to the game of chess that he was playing with Tasha.
"I hate chess…can't we do something else?" Sirius raised his eyes brows with a smirk
"Well we can dear but I don't know if I'm comfortable enough with James in that sort of way yet…" James took his wand and levitated a pillow at him knocking over the entire game of chess in the process. "James…I think you need to work on your charms…eh?"
"Don't worry Padfoot; my charms should be the least of your worries…unless you're willing to take up Tasha's offer." Tasha took the pillow from the chess set and threw it back at James.
"Will you both get off? You know what I meant…I'm so terribly bored…" Tasha moved over to the fire and started poking it with one of the sticks causing it to inflame just a little bit more than expected. Sirius pulled her waist just in time so that her eyebrows didn't get singed off.
"One, your only bored because your losing, Two, your going to be having enough of adventures of that sort" he pointed to the raging fire "back at training, so give it a rest will you?"
"No, Moody owled us yesterday, we're starting stealth when we return-"
"All ready?" Lily interrupted
The three of them looked at her with a bit of pity. Even though she had been in the hospital for most of their return they had gotten used to them being all together again. It was pleasant; they had that old feeling of being impenetrable. They knew that outside in the world there was a war waging…but while they were here together…nothing could break the barriers. But it was that war exactly that had reflected in Lily's eyes.
"It's just that…well…I heard they didn't start stealth until about three months in…and you three have only been there for a little more than a month, correct?"
They nodded, James and Sirius were looking at her wondering where she was going with this, but Tasha who had truly known Lily the longest besides Remus moved from her seat with Sirius and took Lily's hand in hers.
"Lil, you know there's a war going on-" "That's not fair" Lily interjected but Tasha kept on, she needed to hear this "Listen to me. They are training us quicker then normal because they need us to be prepared faster than we would have needed to be had there been no danger present in the world…you probably know this more than most-"
Lily pulled her hand from Tasha's and released herself from James' hands walking slowly towards the fire. "Why should I know this more than others? I haven't had any real experience with Voldemort…it's not fair for you to be leaving." She spun around with an apologetic look in her eye "I'm not trying to be selfish, and I'm not that sorry that your leaving I just…why do you three have less training than everyone else does? Won't you be inefficiently prepared?"
"Lil, it's not just us three whose in training…there are others! And we are all being trained at the same pace, they just trust in our abilities to the point where we don't need as much time as some others did. That's why Moody came and got us so soon."
Lily felt James' hand starting to run up and down her arm. She looked up into his eyes through his round glasses. Some would think that having glasses made you look somewhat silly…but Lily could never picture him without them. So she smiled at his handsomely clever looks and put her arms around him bringing him closer for a hug, She just wanted to be near him, to memorize his body once more before he left, for Lily felt that they would not be seeing each other for a very long time.
So Lily said goodbye to them yet again and watched as they disapparated out of her life. But just as they had gone, the long absent Remus apparated into the entranceway and with one heavy eyed smile at Lily, collapsed on the floor.
"Remus!" she shrieked and ran for him. Her knees skidded the floor as she dropped herself beside him causing a brief burning, dry feeling on her skin. But she couldn't care less, so she placed her hands under Remus' head and slowly moved his head onto her lap. She stoked his hair noticing that the three gashes she saw on his face at the hospital had seemed to be ripped open by something…or someone. She bent her face over his mouth to check his breathing and noted that his breaths were shallow but steady. Without hesitation she pulled her wand from her robe pocket and transformed an object nearby into a portkey. "Portus" she hissed at it with urgency. Lily counted to three while placing Remus' hand on what appeared to be a simple piece of a broken vase. "1…2…3."
She needed to change her career, if Lily was to become a healer she needed to find a more suitable way to help people in need, especially the people involved with this ridiculous war. She couldn't keep treating them without fully knowing what was going on…and that's how she felt with Remus. He slept in her house, but didn't really live there. He wasn't home most of the time and when she found he was, it was probably around the time of the full moon so he had been asleep for most of it. Lily got up from her seat beside his bed and walked over to the window, she looked upon the ignorant muggles and wondered how she could have ever lived without knowing of this world…but lately she found herself wondering…would it have been all that bad?
"Good morning Miss Evans" a gentle voice from the doorway spoke to Lily. She spun around from her lookout at the window so quickly that her neck felt as though it would fall off.
"Professor Dumbledore!" they both walked towards each other evidently happy to see the other. Lily had heard neither hide nor tail of Dumbledore since she had her commencement ceremony from Hogwarts. She grasped his hand firmly shaking it with a smile, although she did not receive such a welcoming expression, his look seemed confused and within a few seconds somewhat disappointed. But before Lily could ask what was wrong he turned to Remus' sleeping state and observed him with a sigh.
"I'm afraid Miss Evans that I owe you an explanation. Your dear friend Mr. Lupin has as of late been, I suppose you can say, working for me…" Lily stared at him in confusion, if Remus had been working for Dumbledore than wouldn't he have been working at the school? There were no other 'jobs' that Dumbledore could have presented him with. And of course Dumbledore being who he was just smiled at Lily's confused face and walked past her to the side of Remus' bed where his wand lay.
"Lily," she started as he said her first name in a tone unlike his usual authoritative self "you will recall me mentioning a group I was going to assemble after a large group of you have come of age." After a moment's silence in which Dumbledore strode around the room taking in his surroundings and observing Lily with an odd eye he continued. "Yes well, I'm sure that you and James will have supposed me to have recruited for this group already as I am also sure that you do not wish for me to wait for certain people to come of age…" he paused again this time Lily decided to stop this, what seemed to her, babbling and intervene.
"No…sir I do not recall this… group" she shrunk back at the somewhat disappointed look on his face "I'm sorry? It could be because I recently was in the hospital for-"
"Bumping your head…if I'm correct?" she nodded not appreciating the judgmental look he was sending her way "Well I'm sorry to hear that…perhaps then Miss Evans you are not prepared to take on what I need you to embrace…" he started to leave the room
"And what's that sir?" she was quite put out by his obvious snub
"Before you embark a journey…you must know yourself Miss Evans…and right now at this moment, you have chosen not to acknowledge yourself at all." And with that he turned around and walked out of Remus' room.
Lily didn't have time to run after him and confront him about his somewhat odd insult for as he left Remus stirred for the first in a couple days. The moment he left it was as if a spell had been lifted from the room…much like she felt after leaving St. Mungo's.
"Oh…just…just kill me please…" he gingerly picked his hand up off the bed and instinctively reached for Lily. She walked to where Dumbledore had been standing not a moment ago and clasped his hand in hers. Remus looked thinner than usual and for the first time in his life… not only did his outward appearance look ragged, but it seemed to reflect the exhaustion within.
"Remus, oh Remus what's happened to you? How could I let you loose yourself for so long?" Once Remus' vision came back into focus he saw the fresh tears that had awakened from Lily's eyes.
"Please Lil, don't." he tried to smile at her but found that all his energy was being used on simply talking and holding tightly onto her hand. For some reason he was afraid that if he would let go he would loose her forever.
"How could you not tell me?" she cried "How could you willingly leave me alone wondering where you are…I can't think of anything else that I thought of while you were gone, Remus. How could you worry me like that? Why?" Remus just stared at her in disbelief. 'You'd think she'd be able to restrain herself until I recovered?'
"There are things you've hidden from me as well Lil-" he started to say
"I have never hid anything from you! I don't think I even hid the fact that I had feelings for James in school!"
"Oh you most definitely did, so don't even start on that ridiculous matter! I'm speaking of-" but he was cut off by the immense choking sensation he felt within his throat when he spoke loudly and tried to exert himself while proving a point. Lily just sighed and propped him up on his bed, her healer instincts kicking in.
"What's wrong with me anyway?" he finally asked
"You've been cursed-"he snorted "apparently." She ignored him "While on the job…of course only you and your good pal Dumby know what actually happened."
Lily, please don't do this! Please just let this go, I promise in due time you will know everything I know…" he looked at her confused face and smiled "Hell, maybe more." Knowing Dumbledore and his resistance to let people in on shoulder baring news, he suspected that eventually a time would come when he would not know everything that was necessary to succeed.
"Oh stop trying to butter me up Remus I know what your doing, but Dumbledore made it quite clear that he no longer wishes me to be in his little clubby thing any longer…I apparently 'must know thyself' before I take a step further…its all bullocks if you ask me…" she tried to let go of his hand and huff her way back over to the window. But upon pulling her arm away from his he just held on tighter, she was moving with such a swift speed as she had not expected him to hold on any longer that the sheer force of her trying to move away from his pulled him up straight and he started to fall off the bed. Lily turned around quickly and caught him just in time as he was too weak to hold on to something and restore his balance on his own. It was unfair, he felt as though he was a small child, he felt as though it was the full moon, completely and utterly helpless to its power over him.
But for Lily this feeling was different…she wasn't ashamed to help Remus, in fact she rather liked it. He had been so distant lately that she hadn't even been able to cook him a true dinner. When she was able to straighten him and place him gently onto the bed his eyes met hers…his eyes were now tearing.
"Don't ask me anymore questions-"
"But-"
"PLEASE!" he yelled as loud as his voice would allow "Do this for me…I promise…I swear on everything that is wonderful about our relationship Lily, you will know what I am doing in due time."
She looked at the emotion and couldn't bear to hear him beg and plead any longer. She consented to not ask anymore questions for the time being.
"But you have to promise me one thing. No, now you listen to me!" he had made to interrupt her once more, but it was her turn now. "Will you at least try to explain what Dumbledore meant by what he said to me…about not being prepared…"
"No I can't do that…it's all your decision and when you're ready you will know…trust me…I think we'll all know." He forced a smile in her direction but when she turned away his face clouded over with gloom. He knew that the secret of Lily giving up her powers for the protection of others was dangerous and almost selfish…although she thought it was for her friends. But Remus could not help think that Dumbledore also was being selfish, he feared that if Lily and James both did not have and combine their power for the use of the Order…then all could be lost…and quickly. But why did he need them so terribly? Did he want them just to prove that Slytherin's powers could be used in a positive way…or did he just fear Lily might take on more of a Slytherin Characteristic and decide that Voldemort had the right idea?
Lily had Remus fixed up and out of St. Mungo's within the week, however she forbid him to leave the house for another two weeks, especially since in one week the full moon would be upon him once more. He agreed and relaxed at home while she worked her way through healing classes and work schedules at Saint Mungo's. She felt happy to be back at work and everyone seemed happy to see her return…she couldn't remember having this many friends at work…but hey the more she got along with her co-workers the simpler it is to solve a problem with a patient. But when your in the unit the Lily occupied you hope to god that you don't get a patient in at all…they ushered in at least four or five patients a day… one day an entire muggle village had been attacked and she herself had to go on the scene to help with the healing.
The devastation she witnessed was unbearable. There were muggles who had been purposely sawed in half and had revival spells constantly put on them just so they would stay alive as long as possible…feeling the terrible pain. Half the village seemed to be under the Imperius curse which was a job for the ministry to handle. This frustrated Lily the most for even though she was taught how to disable an Imperius curse she was technically not allowed because the ministry had to go along and record every single person that had ever been under the curse. So instead of helping them…she was made to stupefy them. Thankfully she hadn't seen any Aurors that even resembled her friends. Knowing the battles that lay before Sirius, Tasha, and James only made her nerves more unsettled than they were when she learned that their training alone was faster than the Aurors before them…she felt they weren't taking enough time to sit and learn what was necessary for the jobs that awaited them…for the wars. But she fought the storm raging in her heart to speak up about her disapproval. She knew exactly what their responses to her outrage would be. They would just try to calm her down…as if she was a bomb that needed to have water splashed over it before it exploded…is that how they saw her sometimes? An unstable bomb? Well there was no use worrying about it…they were hundreds of miles away and here she was again…stuck…and even though Remus was with her most of the time now…she knew in her heart she was still alone.
On the eve of the full moon Lily sat at a desk in the tea room with some colleagues who were discussing some new potion or another…these happened often and she wasn't exactly in the mood to listen, until she heard one word: werewolf.
"What?" she looked up from the book she had been going over to make sure she had remembered the protocol of the hospital correctly.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" a man named George Finkley replied. He was a tall rather pompous man with brown hair that didn't match his disposition at all, as his hair was sort of a crazy wave all the way down to the middle of his back. While at work he kept it in a braid and out of his face, but Lily had always suspected out of work, he would let it flow free and wild as rumor had it he was a very wild wild boy. Apparently he had a fascination for a type of muggle music called metal. George had been talking to her
"What is?" she repeated wanting to know why the topic had been werewolves.
"Daydreaming again I see? Are we really that boring Lily?" she raised and eyebrow and gave Lily one of her quirky smiles not allowing lily time to respond "It's a brand new potion, just recently discovered."
"And it involves werewolves?" she persisted
George nodded enthusiastically "Well my dear its all to do with them now isn't it. Rumor has it that if a werewolf were to take this potion on the night of his transformation before the moon were to strike his(or her) pathetic body…" he paused for a dramatic effect "then they would keep their wits about them when they transformed, be able to curl up in a little ball and sleep until morning." He laughed at Lily's gaping expression
"Is this potion at all dangerous?" her mind was working and clinking into place
"No one knows as it hasn't been tested yet…no werewolf has yet stepped forward and dare to take it. Now we don't feel that the werewolves are afraid of being hurt by it if something goes wrong. We feel that they are just afraid to identify themselves…and it's quite a pity as we have a sample for testing right here in this hospital.
Lily jumped "Where?"
"Third floor testing but- WAIT! LILY WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU'RE NOT A WEREWOLF!"
'No.' Lily thought to herself as she ran down the stairs to the third floor 'But a very important person is.'
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is the brilliance of JK Rowling.