Lily stared at her own notes wracking her brain for a single semblance of a thought. She was begging for any idea to make this charm work because this charm could change the world and save lives. It could stop an epidemic.
"You're never going to think of something new by staring at what you already know."
Lily glanced up at Mulciber with a raised eyebrow. "I can try."
"You could," he agreed, "Or I could teach you how to make your charm a ball … like I showed you the other day."
"The other day?" she teased and he skulked.
"Fine, the other week."
She laughed lightly. "All right, I'm down for it. Teach me your ways!"
Francis walked her through the motions, the feeling behind it and talked her through it as she tried to slow down the speed of her spell. After several attempts Lily finally did it, stopping her spell so it formed into a ball mid air instead of hitting a target. She wasn't even embarrassed to admit that she whooped with a fist in the air when she did it.
"I did it," she exclaimed. "I actually did it."
"I told you. It's all up here," he tapped his temple with his index finger. He turned back to his own notes and Lily glanced across the room at Gideon who looked at her questioningly. She shrugged in response and explained in Headquarters later that night after he questioned her directly.
"Keep your enemies close, right?"
Gideon frowned at her. "Just remember he's a Death Eater and no matter how charming and nice he seems, you can't trust him."
"I may look like just a pretty face but let's remember who actually worked their way onto the program," Lily reminded him with jest and a nudge. "I'll be fine as long as we have each other's backs and we have each other's backs, don't we?"
"Yeah, of course," Gideon agreed and he scratched the back of his neck. "How's Lovegood going with the charm anyways?"
Lily frowned at that. "Terribly. Absolutely no progress in a month."
"Hate to say it, Evans, but that may be for the best until we can figure out a adequate plan from keeping the charm out of Mulciber's grasp. It's bad enough he knows the beginnings of it."
"I know," she said and then thinking of her thoughts from earlier in the day, "But it could save lives, stop epidemics."
"It could start epidemics and cost lives if it gets into their hands," Gideon corrected.
"I know that, too."
"Do you?"
Lily glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you shouldn't get caught up in - in the charm of it all, for a lack of better term. This charm could end the wizarding world as we know it."
"I said I know that."
"All right," he conceded.
"Oi, Evans come look at this baby photo of James!" Sirius called out.
Lily ignored Sirius and asked Gideon, "We don't have a problem, do we?"
Gideon looked at her and sipped at his drink before sighing. "No, no. It's not you I'm frustrated at. It's the mission. I thought it'd be done long before this. I never accounted," he shook his head taking another sip.
"You never accounted for the time it takes to actually form a complex charm," Lily said kindly. "You know, I can handle Mulciber and Alexina. You can quit the program, I'd still have Meadowes for back-up."
Gideon shook his head. "No, it's my mission and I need to be as close to it as possible without breaking cover. Now, go join Black teasing your boyfriend because of his baby photos."
Lily grinned. "Don't tell him I said this, but he was adorable."
"Adorable and grew up hot, too. Some people have all the luck. Go on," he urged. "I'm going to go find Em and Fab."
Lily joined Sirius in teasing James as they too drank firewhiskey out of plastic cups joining in on the small party that seemed to happen after most large meetings. Lily suspected James orchestrated it because Sprinkle was always offering drinks and cooking up a storm during the meetings, alluring everyone to stay longer than necessary and mingle.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing," Remus commented when Lily brought up her suspicions.
"I never said it was just that James Potter just can't resist socialising in the form of a party."
"Even if it is James' excuse for just another party, I think it's good. It'll help us get to know each other, trust each other."
Lily smiled, "I suppose this lot could all use a little more trust in the group. We don't really know much about anyone, do we?"
"Except Alice's sister and the Prewett brothers, no," Remus agreed.
Lily held up her cup for a cheers, "To trust." Remus met her cup with his and said, "To trust," as James flung an arm around Lily's shoulders.
"Hello, love," he grinned at her, pressing a kiss to her cheek and she laughed unashamedly.
"Hello," she greeted back, turning her head to kiss his lips chastely. "All right, Potter?" she asked.
"Mmmhmm." James hugged her, resting his chin on her head and she patted his arm recognising the sleepy stage of Drunk James.
"All right, time to get you home, I think."
After a round of goodbyes to everyone Lily and James left through the front door and they walked, arms looped together to the alley and Lily popped them off to Seaside Estate.
A pile of boxes sat in the middle of the living room and Sirius and Ella stood in the hallway. It was smaller than Sirius was use to and it was smaller than Ella was use to. Both born into prominent pure blood families, they were used to sprawling mansions in the country side and elaborate multi-story apartments in the city. Now, they stood in a small — by their standards — two bedroom flat with nothing more than a kitchen, living-room and bathroom. It was both terrifying and exciting.
James followed Lily into the flat both holding a box each. "You know, for two people you guys have a lot of crap," James huffed.
"Yeah I think I packed some of your stuff," Sirius admitted.
"I may have stolen Doc's toaster."
"His toaster?" Lily snorted as she added her box to the pile.
"It's the best toaster ever."
"Now that all the boxes are up and in the apartment, Lily and I are going to leave you guys to unpack."
"Awe come on, you're just gonna leave us with all these boxes?" Sirius asked, self pity seeping into every syllable.
Lily and James glanced at each other, communicating with their eyes before both turning back to Sirius and Ella and saying, "Yep."
Ella laughed, "Go on. Enjoy the day. It's probably one of the last nice ones before autumn really kicks in."
Lily kissed Ella's cheek and then Sirius', "Enjoy unpacking!"
Then they apparated out right from the apartment.
"Rude," Sirius remarked. "Just apparating out of someone's house like that."
Ella patted his cheek, "Come on, these boxes aren't going to unpack themselves and Marlene said she'll stop by with lunch and some groceries for us on her break."
"Ella … I'm thinking of a plan."
"Oh Merlin."
"It's a good plan. Brilliant even."
"Double Merlin."
"You see Marlene is the mother hen type and she likes all this unpacking stuff and for whatever reason, it brings her joy so, why don't we just leave the boxes and then Marlene will take charge and do them."
"Look I get the thought process here but this is Marlene we're talking about. Marlene who loves assigning jobs in a situation where she has to take charge. Marlene who will delegate the nastier jobs to others so she doesn't have to but she still gets the credit because she was the one who took charge. So your good, brilliant plan is actually quite shit."
Sirius skulked and Ella laughed patting him on the cheek. "Come on, lazy bones." But as she turned to start on a box an owl pecked at the window and she sighed as Sirius went to open the window.
"Does anyone even know we've moved yet?" Her office did. Sirius tried to take the letter off the owl but it nipped his fingers and flew to Ella. She quickly unattached the letter from the owl's leg and it flew off. Not a good sign. "What's that?" Sirius asked as she opened it.
"Work." She quickly read the letter and groaned. "They want me to come in. Something about a last minute meeting with the Norwegian Head of Defence."
"It's moving day," Sirius said quietly. Ella kissed him softly.
"I know, but they wouldn't owl if it's not important. I'll bring dinner on the way back and don't worry about unpacking, we'll do it tomorrow."
She grabbed her handbag and used her wand to transfigure her outfit into something more work appropriate. "I'll see you tonight," she promised and kissed his cheek.
With a flick of her wand, she apparated out just like James and Lily.
Sirius ignored her request of not worrying about the boxes. He was alone in the apartment for what looked like was going to be hours and nothing was unpacked. There was nothing else to do, so he started with the furniture they'd either bought or taken from Seaside Estate and Headquarters. He re-enlarged all of it and arranged it, deciding that Ella could change it later if she wanted then he moved on to clothes, using magic to hang them up in the closet and it was in the middle of this task when there was a knock on the door.
"Ella? Sirius? It's Marlene!"
"Door's open, Marls!" Sirius shouted. "In the bedroom!"
The door opened and she was a few minutes before she entered the bedroom in her lime green, healer robes. Sirius hadn't seen her in her uniform before and somehow it looked like her natural state. Her stringy blonde hair up in a ponytail, famous pink scrunchie to accompany it and her blue eyes never seemed more calming and kind.
"What?" Marlene asked.
Sirius shook his head, turning away. "Nothing. Uniform suits you."
"Oh, well, thanks, I guess. Where's Ella?"
"Had to go into work."
"Oh … the living room looks good."
"Yeah, I unpacked that first. The spare couches from Headquarters really suit the place."
"James and Lil didn't stick around?"
Sirius shook his head. "James has the day off training, Lily's sister is visiting and she's trying to avoid her house as much as possible so they're taking a day together."
Marlene sat down on the edge of the bed. "That's nice. I wish Nate and I could take a day but I've got twelve hour shifts and when I'm not working or studying he's at Mr Ollivander's."
"Sucks when work gets in the way."
Marlene leaned forward. "What about you? Anything coming up in the work department?"
Sirius shook his head, "I don't really need to work and the one thing I wanted to do, they won't accept me because of who my family is."
"Never thought a pure-blood would ever get denied something."
"They do when it's a conflict of interest."
"It still sucks. I think we were just so protected at Hogwarts that it was such a shock to come into this world and discover this is what it's actually like."
"And what's it like?"
Marlene sighed. "The real world, it's cruel with no mediators. No one to step in and say 'no, that isn't fair'. In this world only you can stand up for you."
Sirius turned to her, "Everything all right at work?"
"Mostly. A few students in my class are entitled pure-bloods," she shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Well," Sirius paused, "If you can't … Just say the word and, I'll…"
"Sirius Black, are you offering to beat someone up for me?" she asked, with a hint of a grin on her lips.
"Multiple someone's actually."
She stood up and punched his shoulder softly. "You act all hard and tough but really you're just a big softie, aren't you?"
"Pfft, no."
Marlene smiled. "I'm sure. Now, where are you up to in the unpacking stage. I've got a half hour left in my break."
"I'm going to be really honest with you, I've never had to cook a day in my life so it'd be great if you could tackle the kitchen."
Marlene laughed. "I'm on it."
Magic was an amazing thing really because something that should've taken Marlene the half a day, only took her half an hour and Sirius could have hugged her. Instead he said, "Remind me to shout you a drink next time we're out."
Marlene picked up her handbag and said, "Will do," before she too popped out of the apartment.
By six o'clock Sirius had everything unpacked. Books were on the bookshelf, clothes were in the closet and a clock was on the wall. With not much else to do, Sirius settled in with a book he'd been meaning to read until a patronus ran into the room. It was a fox and from it Fabian Prewett's voice spoke.
"Gideon Prewett captured. Headquarters ASAP."
Sirius jumped up, throwing the book onto the couch he'd just been on. He hurtled to the bedroom, changing into jeans and a t-shirt.
"Sirius?" Ella called as the front door opened. "We really should put a wizarding lock on this door! Anyone can just come bursting through — where are you going?" she frowned as Sirius left the bedroom, wand tucked behind his ear.
"Headquarters. They need me for a mission."
"Oh — well maybe I should come too?"
"Did you get the patronus?"
"No."
"Then they don't need you."
"Sirius-"
"I gotta go," and he popped out just as easily as she had.
Emmeline was freaking out and there wasn't anything Alice could do.
"You need to stay in bed!" Alice insisted, her hand on Emmeline's shoulder to keep her from moving. "The healer's say you shouldn't be exhausting yourself."
"Alice! He's my — he's my best friend! I have to go and Fab, Fab is going to go after him and I have to go too! It's always been us three against," Emmeline pushed a hand through her hair, "You have to let me go."
"No — no! Absolutely not," Alice hissed. "I will go to Headquarters and I'll make sure that they get Gideon back but you will stay in this bed, do you hear me?"
"Al, please — !"
"You need to get better. I'm going to go and I'll send a patronus as soon as I know what's going on."
Alice turned to the door only to stop. "Della?" she asked surprised because Adaline Bennett was standing in the doorway when she should be half way across the world.
Adaline held up a piece of parchment. "I got your letter." Alice looked at Adaline. Her hair was shorter, her skin a little more tanned and a trunk was by her feet.
"Did you — you came straight here?"
"I went to your place first," Adaline explained and Alice shook her head before running up to Adaline and hugging her tightly.
"I'm so happy you're back," she whispered, with a smile. "There's so much to catch you up on but I need you to stay with Em. Can you do that?"
Adaline frowned slightly, "Yeah, of course I can — where are you going?"
Alice patted her pockets for her wand and groaned when it wasn't in either of her pockets. "Em, can you explain please? I can't find my bleeding wand!" Alice searched under blankets and jackets on chairs until she found it hiding on the food tray a witch had brought up earlier. "All right. I'm going."
"Don't forget to send me a patronus!"
Alice left the room and had to hold in her tears. They kidnapped Gideon. She hadn't wrapped her head around that, didn't know if she could. They kidnapped a person and it was so easy for them to do it. They just blasted through the Prewett brothers' front door and took him. It was the craziest thought to pop into someone's mind at a time like this but all Alice could think was 'What if he had an appointment?' It was absolutely absurd, an insane, inane thought. Something so ridiculous that it made her want to laugh and cry at the same time.
She arrived at Headquarters to find Fabian Prewett in the dining room with James, Sirius and Lily and a witch Alice had seen around but hadn't actually met. Alice walked right over to Fabian and gave him a hug and said, "From Em. She's freaking out."
Alice didn't mention that she thought he needed it. She had known Fabian and Gideon Prewett since she was eight years old, though one could argue to see one was to see the other, she had never seen either of them look as worried and — to her shock — scared. They'd always been so laissez-faire type attitude — winging it and not caring much about the rules. James and Sirius reminded her of them and the closest thing Alice could compare the look on Fabian's face to was when Lily was attacked by Brown.
Fabian squeezed her tight before pulling back, "She's not thinking of doing anything stupid, is she?"
"She was," Alice admitted, "But I left her with a babysitter. Della's back."
Lily perked, "Della's back? Since when?"
"Just surprised the hell out of me. She doesn't really know what's going on yet. I don't even really know what's going on yet."
"Malfoy took him," Fabian said. "We're organising a mission to search Malfoy Manor. We're trying to decide on a team. No more than four people."
"And Evans and I should be two of them," the other witch spoke up. "It's our mission!"
"That's why you can't go," James piped up. "Gideon's cover is obviously blown but yours and Lily's isn't. You need to keep your cover and that's not going to be possible if they see you breaking Gideon out of their dungeon."
"He's right," Fabian agreed.
"Okay, I'll go," Alice volunteered.
"Al, your sister will kill me after the last time."
"Don't give me that, Fab. It's Gideon. Of course I'm going to go. I've known the both of you since I was eight."
"We're in," Sirius said, gesturing to James and himself. "And that makes four."
"James, it should be me," Lily shook her head.
"You'll blow your cover. It's all right," he kissed her forehead. "I'll be fine."
"All right then, let's make a plan," Sirius clapped his hands together. "Like how the hell we're going to get in there in the first place."
"We defer to you, Black," Fabian said, "Your cousin's engaged to Malfoy."
"Sirius doesn't speak to that family anymore," Lily said firmly. "What about house elves?"
"House elves?" Alice questioned.
"Yeah, I mean, a place like that is bound to have similar anti-apparation jinxes like Hogwarts and Seaside Estate and like, well, Headquarters but house elves still apparate around all those places and between the five pure-bloods here I'm sure there's a house elf available to help."
"That's actually kind of brilliant," Sirius admitted and Lily shrugged.
They popped into a cold, drafty room and it was dark. The air was stale and seemed to almost sting on the way down. James sniffed his nose and said, "Lumos."
His wand lit up to see that the dungeon, for that's what it was, was empty. James shook his head at the room, disappointed and mad that the Malfoys didn't see anything wrong with having a room like this in their home. The door was made of iron bars and there were limp chains hanging off the walls, an empty lantern lay broken on the floor.
"He's not here," Fabian hissed, his eyes darting about the place as though Gideon could have been hiding in plain sight.
"They could have him in another —"
Suddenly, a yell from upstairs and the four of them looked at each other. The yell was from Gideon. It had to be and it sounded, it sounded like he was being tortured. Another scream of pain and James was sure, a queasiness in his stomach.
"We didn't — we didn't plan for this," Alice murmured, wincing as they heard yet another scream.
"Lucky you're with us," Sirius muttered, "James and I are kings of winging it."
"Right," James agreed. This didn't need to be any different than creating a diversion for Filch. "We need a diversion."
"I say we draw them out to one of the rooms on a higher level," Sirius proposed, "Then Alice and Fab, you get Gideon."
"What kind of diversion? Maybe we should get back-up."
"Back-up not needed," James assured Alice. "We'll sneak back here and be well off the second level by the time the diversion happens. We'll go up, you two find the room they're keeping Gideon in, hide until the diversion happens then, in-and-out. We meet back here and Twinky will apparate us out."
"I don't think Twinky should wait on his own," Sirius frowned. "Twinky, you'll go with Fabian and Alice. If you find Gideon but can't get back to here … apparate out. I'm pretty sure I know a way out from when I was a kid."
"All right," Fabian agreed. "Let's do it."
"Cloak?" Sirius muttered, as they climbed the stairs out of the dungeon.
James pulled the cloak out of his pocket for the first time since school ended and as they reached the top and threw it on top of the both of them. Sirius, having been in the house once or twice before, guided them to a main staircase that led them up to a second level.
"How sure is 'pretty sure'?" James asked.
"Seventy-eight percent sure," Sirius said firmly. They'd had worse odds before.
The house was different from Seaside Estate, a bad different. Malfoy Manor was all stone and marble with cool green decor and stuffy portraits of ancestors. It felt so cold and empty. James knew Seaside was large but he'd never felt that it was empty.
Sirius led them into a drawing room. "This should do."
Another yell that seemed to last an eternity. "Time the explosions for two minutes," James ordered, pulling the cloak off of both of them. "We have to hurry."
The drawing room was large and James and Sirius wasted no time in tapping their wands to objects so they pulsed lightly with a white glow. James tapped his wand to a black book set upon a side table and frowned when it didn't start glowing. Intrigued he picked it up and flicked through it. It was empty. With no time to wonder about it now, James shoved the book in his pocket and tapped the table instead and nodded satisfactorily when it glowed.
"I think that's enough," Sirius said. "The room will be smoke once all these go off. I got a few books and the desk over there."
James nodded. "I got the whole bookshelf and the tables around the couches."
"Let's get out of here before we're smoke too."
James didn't need telling twice and threw the cloak over them once more.
Alice and Fabian crept out of the dungeon with Twinky following them after James and Sirius and followed the sounds of Gideon's screams.
"Bloody bastards," Fabian cursed.
"Shh," Alice hushed trying to hear what was actually being said.
"I'll ask you once more." Alice couldn't recognise the voice. "Is Lily Evans involved with the Order of the Phoenix?"
"I've already told you no a dozen fucking ti —" the rest of his sentence morphed into a groan as though trying to hold in a scream.
"Tell us the truth! Crucio!" More groaning. "Spit it out then!"
"Fuck you!"
"Crucio," his torturer said, bored.
Alice wanted to block her ears, didn't want to hear the latent lack of humanity in someone's voice, didn't want to hear the screams and groans of pain. She couldn't fathom how someone could be so cruel.
They followed down a wide set corridor, the screams and voices getting clearer and louder as they made their way down.
"Hold on, Gid," she whispered.
"They could hurry up with their bloody diversion," Fab hissed. "How do we know if it's started?"
Alice glanced at Fabian. "Trust me, we'll know. Those boys and subtlety don't really mix."
They approached a room, and it was the room for Gideon was in it, tied to a chair with Francis Mulciber pointing his wand at him. Lucius Malfoy sat on the couch biting into a green apple as though this were just another day at Malfoy Manor, his ears immune to the sounds of pain coming out of the tortured man and Alice felt it. In that moment, she'd be lying if she said the thought of wanting them dead hadn't crossed her mind because it did, as loud and clear as Gideon's pain. I wish they were dead.
"They'll see us if they leave the room," Fabian said, looking around. "Here," he rushed over to some curtains, dragging Alice and Twinky with him and they hid behind the heavy curtains until — boom! BOOM!
Alice covered her ears at the loud explosions that followed and nodded at Fabian. This was their cue.
"What the hell is that?" they could hear Malfoy shout. Alice did a quick spell on the curtain so they could see out but no-one could see in. She watched as Malfoy and Mulciber ran out of the room, leaving Gideon alone.
"Thank Merlin," Alice sighed. "Twinky, wait in the hall, let us know if they come back."
"Yes, Miss Alice."
Alice and Fabian run across into the room, wands out.
"Gid, Gid, it's me," Fabian said, as he started cutting the chains around his wrists. "You gotta wake up. We only have a few minutes."
Alice crouched on the floor and worked the chains off his ankles.
"Fabian?" Gideon asked groggily.
"Yes, and Alice." Fabian heaved Gideon out of the chair and he coughed badly. "Al, get his other side. He's like jelly."
Alice complied and wrapped Gideon's arm around her shoulders, together they hauled Gideon out of the room and with Twinky leading the way, back down the corridor towards the dungeon.
"No — no not back there," Gideon groaned.
"Shh, shh, all part of the plan," Alice assured.
"Here, we're here," and James and Sirius appeared literally out of nowhere and Alice, sue her, yelped.
Sirius smirked and she rolled her eyes. "Let's get out of here." Alice held hands with Twinky who held hands with James who held hands with Sirius. "Whenever you're ready, Twinky, back to Headquarters."
Twinky looked at James who nodded and with a crack they were standing in the kitchen of Headquarters.
Lily paced the dining room for what seemed like an age and the fact that Meadowes opted to sit in quiet demeanour didn't help Lily's stress levels. They should be doing something. This was so stupid, it was their mission and Lily, she was the one in the most dangerous position. She should've been the one kidnapped. Not Gideon. It was maddening.
"Would you stop pacing?" Meadowes snapped.
Lily frowned, apparently her pacing hadn't helped Meadowes stress levels. "I'm sorry. I just can't sit still. I need to be, I don't know, doing something."
"There's nothing to do but wait." She didn't say anything else for a few minutes and then, "How long have you and Potter been together?"
"A year this November."
Meadowes smiled softly. "That's nice."
"Are you married?" Lily asked, her eyes finding the gold band that shone on her finger.
"I was," her smile faded, "He died a year ago. Death Eaters."
"Oh, I'm so sorry … had you two been together long?"
"Seven years. It was the summer just after graduation. He worked in a muggle cafe and I used to go there just to see him." Dorcas seemed lost in her thoughts for a moment. "He was writing a book on the muggle experience and they killed him for it."
Lily was about to apologise once more when a loud crack sounded from the kitchen. Lily and Dorcas glanced at each other before rushing out of the dining room.
Just as Lily stepped off the last step into the kitchen, Alice keeled over the kitchen sink and vomited as Sirius helped Fabian get Gideon to lie down on the kitchen table. James stood on stand-by and Lily sighed in relief to see him intact.
"James," she breathed, rushing over to hug him tightly. "Are you okay?"`
He hugged her back just as tightly. "I'm fine, love."
"Al, you all right?" she asked, pulling back from James.
Alice stuck her thumb out for Lily to see and maybe Lily would've laughed if Gideon weren't passed out on the table.
"They were going pretty hard on him," Sirius said. "Maybe we should get Marlene over."
"It's the cruciatus," Fabian shook his head. "I'll get him up to a bed. He'll be out of action for a few days." Fabian looked at Lily when he said this.
"I'll be fine. I think Mulciber is warming up to me."
Alice pulled away from the sink. "He was trying to figure out if you were in the Order."
Lily frowned. "So he still doesn't know?"
"No, Gideon kept your cover."
"Okay," Lily said, "Okay, good." James wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, kissing her temple. "How'd you guys get in and out?"
James and Sirius quickly relayed the story, "Blew up a good chunk of their dark arts section, I reckon," Sirius finished.
"Your plan was good," Dorcas complimented James and Sirius. "In and out in under an hour and without being made. I'll put in a good word with Moody. He usually organises the more delicate missions so to speak and if this was any indication, you two are good at that sort of stuff."
"I don't know how to respond to that," Sirius said.
"Just say 'thank you', Sirius," Lily chuckled.
"Thank you."
Meadowes pursed her lips, affronted at the odd encounter and unsure how to take him before nodding. "I'll see you at work, Evans."
Lily bid her goodbye and Meadowes helped Fabian get Gideon up to a bedroom before they heard the front door open and close.
"I better go tell Emmeline that Gid's all right. I'll catch you later," Alice bid the other goodbye and she bent down to kiss Twinky on the cheek to thank him for his help.
"And then it was three," Sirius muttered.
"Why didn't Ella come?" Lily asked, sitting on the dining table.
Sirius scowled. "She just got home from work."
"Work? Weren't you two unpacking today?" James asked, sitting between Lily's legs on the bench.
"Yes, well that's what I thought was on the agenda as well until she up and left for work. She got back just as I was about to leave for here. I, suppose I better get back."
Sirius left too and then it was just two.
"They seem okay to you?" James asked her.
Lily shrugged. "It's for them to sort out. Us on the other hand are very late for a dinner with my mother and sister."
"Shit."
James decided, after weeks of receiving the silent treatment from his mother, it was finally time to talk with her. As childish as it sounded, he missed his mum and there was something he was dying to ask her that had nothing to do with the Order of the Phoenix and it wasn't only that. If the whole Gideon-being-kidnapped thing had taught him anything, it was that life was very short and his fate wasn't his own. He didn't control it, he couldn't mould it with his own hands and he, for the first time, really understood that being in the Order of the Phoenix could cost him his life. He wouldn't know when or how but one day he could be taken or murdered and if it was tomorrow, he'd want things to be right today.
Also Christmas was coming up and he knew his decorating duties would be a lot worse if he didn't try to mend fences with her. Though that was a very, very, very small part of the reason and he would admit it to no one. James didn't have to see the boxes of decorations the house elves were taking out of the basement and piling in the ballroom to be scared.
So that's what he was doing.
He found her one afternoon in the library reading and he sat on the floor in front of her, leaning his elbow on his propped up knee.
"Mum," he said but Euphemia did not look up from her book. "I know you're upset with me for joining and I understand but I miss you so could you maybe be disappointed in me and still talk to me because I'd really like my mum back."
Euphemia looked at her son and sighed. "I'm not disappointed in you. I'm scared for you. I was young when Grindlewald had his reign of terror and I never wanted that to be a life for you. I never wanted you to be in the thick of things."
James almost snorted. He was always in the thick of things. "Luckily, I'm a keep-my-head-down kind of guy."
Euphemia did snort. "Luckily, I'm not stubborn."
"I'm sorry," James offered.
Euphemia put her book down beside her and leaned forward. "Don't ever be sorry for trying to make the world a better place."
"Even if you don't like it?" James asked.
"Even if I don't like it," she confirmed. "I love you no matter what. Just," she studied his face tenderly and brushed his hair to the side, "Be careful."
James nodded with a sly smile until his mum asked, "Now what have you been stalking me around the house for for the last five days? It can't just be because Sirius is gone because he said you've been jittery."
James gaped. "You're talking with Sirius! Before me!"
Euphemia shrugged, "He didn't inherit my stubbornness it seems. Cornered me the night before he moved out and blubbed a little."
"He did not cry," James said in disbelief.
"He did and we talked but this is about you. What's the matter?"
"Lily," James blurted and his mother smiled like she knew this day would one day come.
"When?"
"Soon," James admitted. "After Alice and Frank's wedding."
He expected his mum to go on a spiel about how they were too young and how there was no harm in waiting. He thought she'd try to talk him into waiting for another year but at the same time, he wasn't surprised when his mum said, cool as a cucumber:
"Don't want to steal their thunder," Euphemia agreed. "My boy's all grown up."
"I'll always be your boy, mum."
"You'll be my boy but you'll be her man. Now, dear, when you do it you make sure you get down on one knee and you tell her that she's the best thing that ever happened to you."
"Are you actually giving me proposal advice?" James wrinkled his nose.
"Yes, I don't know why you're not taking notes. You tell her that you love her more than life itself and you say that you wouldn't care where and when and what happens, you want to spend the rest of your life with her. Then you say, like the gentleman I raised you to be, 'Lily Evans, will you marry me?' And when she says yes, you slide the ring on, I assume you've taken good care of the ring her father gave you."
James gaped, "How did you even know about that?"
Euphemia laughed. "You're terrible at hiding things — like that motorbike that was up in the attic for weeks. Anyway, you slide the ring on her finger and you stand up and kiss her but make sure it's slow and sweet and —"
"Okay — nope, enough. No more advice needed," James held his hands up, "I'm good on the kissing part mum, in fact it's just weird talking to you about this."
Euphemia considered this, "Would it be better if I told Sirius and then he told you?"
"Maybe."
The five of them sat in a circle on Alice's bed, it was their last slumber party before Alice got married slash a welcome back thing for Adaline. Things were changing faster than any of them cared to admit and it felt nice for them in this moment to pretend that it was just another slumber party during the holidays — they'd always chosen Alice's house because she had the biggest bed. A well of lollies and sweets — Honeyduke's finest — sat in the middle of the circle and the girls carelessly dipped into it as they talked and laughed.
"Mrs Longbottom has given us her father's townhouse in London," Alice told them. "We'll be a stone throw away from the Ministry."
"She gave you a house?" Marlene's jaw dropped.
"Gave us the deed," Alice confirmed. "It'll need some re-decorating. No one's lived in it for years since Frank's nana passed away. What about you and Nate, Marls? Planning to move out anytime soon?"
Marlene shook her head. "God, no. We already live next door to each other and maybe once I become a fully certified healer we'll re-visit the decision but neither of us make nearly enough to handle an apartment in London. If anyone should be moving in together, it's Lily and James."
Lily shook her head. "I can't leave mum on her own besides, James is, well, he's very traditional about that sort of thing."
Ella quirked a brow, "Traditional? Honey, we both know you two aren't waiting til' marriage."
"I said traditional not old fashioned," she said exasperated. "He wants to wait until we're at least engaged before we move in together and, I really don't want to leave mum on her own yet. I just feel like Petunia's out of the house and this is just my time with mum. I like it."
"I get it," Marlene said quietly, "Henry and I, when we used to get homesick in the beginning years we used to be jealous of Charlie because he always got mum and dad to himself when we were gone for the year."
"Yeah," Lily agreed. "Petunia was always jealous of me and she always assumed that I had nothing to be jealous of her about but I was."
"You just weren't a complete bitch about it," Adaline added and Lily cracked a smile. "So you two are thinking of getting hitched like Al?"
Lily bit into her chocolate and shook her head. "No, no, but when Sirius and Ella decided to move in we had a talk and he just mentioned that he would like to be engaged before we moved in together."
"Hmm, how is that going by the way? Living with Sirius Black," Alice asked Ella.
"It's good, great even."
"Uh-oh, I sense a but," Adaline prodded.
"No, it's stupid."
"Come on, Ella."
"I just, I wish he was a bit more supportive of my job."
Marlene raised an eyebrow, "He has a problem with you working?"
"No. He has a problem with Crouch. Doesn't like him. Doesn't understand why I want to work with him and why I — his words — jump through hoops for him."
"James was like that a little when I couldn't tell him about the project I was working on. Confidential and all."
"What'd you do?"
"Well, we talked and James stopped pushing me to tell him."
Ella laughed, "You make it sound easy."
"It's not," Alice muttered and the girls all turned to her. "Is it weird that I still haven't told Frank about the Order?"
"Maybe a little," Adaline admitted and then put her hands up in defence when they all glared at her, "Don't look at me like that. I've already told you that he'll probably be mad that you didn't tell him but he'll get over it and then he'd probably join."
"Just tell him when you're ready," Lily advised.
"Or before you move in together. It's going to be kind of hard to keep a secret when a patronus bursts into your living room," Marlene pointed out.
"You're right," Alice agreed. "You're absolutely right. I'm going to tell him tomorrow."
"Woah, that's fast," Lily remarked.
"Yeah, so she doesn't change her mind," Adaline smirked and Alice threw a liquorice wand at her.
"No, I just think it's time. It was so awkward and hard not telling him the real reason why Em was in hospital and I don't want to start our marriage with this huge secret between us."
Since most of their relationship problems were out of the way, they moved onto work stories and in Adaline's case, travelling stories and they brought out the bottle of firewhiskey because what's a sleepover without a bottle of alcohol to pass around. The five of them drifted off at some time around three in the morning, each of them waking up with god awful headaches in the morning but it was a night they'd forever remember as one of the happier times in their lives.
Alice's day started out doomed. She woke up twenty minutes late meaning she was twenty minutes late for her class on the Dark Arts 101 which was taught by none other than Alastor Moody, which in Alice's opinion was just so unfortunate. She could have been late any other day, like when Kingsley Shacklebolt taught Concealment and Deception or when the flirtatious, Demi Verne taught Defence 101. She literally could have had any other class and she would've gotten off with nothing else than a stern look as she entered the lecture hall. But she had Dark Arts 101 with Alastor bloody Moody.
The last name fit him well, maybe too well in Alice's opinion. He was tall and brooding with ominous scars shrouding his face and perhaps before this life, Alice may have considered him handsome. Alice never saw him in anything other than the standard black Auror robes, which had clipped sleeves at the wrists and gold fastenings that held the robes tighter than normal robes. But the one thing that Alice thought about when she thought of Alastor Moody was, "Constant vigilance!" A phrase he was shouting as she tried to slink into the lecture hall undetected but, clearly she wasn't paying enough attention in Kingsley's class.
"Miss Vance!" Moody barked. "I hope being late is worth your life! What if I covered something that you face one day and you die because you missed the first twenty-three minutes of class?"
Alice gulped, "I'll catch up, sir. I'm sorry it won't happen again."
Most teachers would have left it at that, not Moody though. He called her back after class and properly berated her for tardiness and lectured her for exactly twenty-three minutes on all the content she'd missed and maybe she would have been grateful for the catch-up if it literally wasn't being barked at her as though she'd set his puppy on fire but he still had to teach her.
Escaping Moody's wrath, Alice popped into Diagon Alley to rush her Christmas shopping because with everything else going on, today was her last chance if she wanted to buy gifts for Frank, Emmeline and her friends. Christmas shopping, also, somehow, ran late after a fight with a shop clerk about something that was on display but not for sale because that bag would be perfect for Emmeline so Alice fought with the old hag before finally winning except now she was running extremely late.
Alice rushed to the hospital because Emmeline, lo and behold, was finally being released from the hospital right before Christmas— except, she was late because today apparently was the day of being late. After being redirected to about half a dozen different people, lugging all her shopping with her as she went, "She's already been discharged," lucky person number seven finally informed her at the nurse's station on Emmeline's floor and Alice could've cried.
"No, no, I was supposed to pick her up," Alice insisted.
"Yes but-"
"It's okay, Darla, I got this," Marlene appeared, clipboard in hand and with a nasty stain on her lime green robes that looked like — "Yes, it's vomit now stop staring at it and stop making that scrunched up face! You're not the one wearing it."
Alice straightened her face out and asked about Emmeline. Again.
"The healers owled your dad when you didn't show. They left five minutes ago."
"Fucking brilliant," Alice muttered.
"What kept you?"
"I was late to class so Moody kept me back."
"Good to see I'm not the only one having a not so great day," Marlene mused and Alice scrunched her face again at the vomit.
"Dare I ask?"
"A seven year old boy with a vomiting bug because his older brother found him annoying and used his mum's wand to jinx him."
"What incantation did he know?"
Marlene stiffled a laugh, "Apparently the exact words were, 'vomit vomit vomit'."
"Original," Alice commented.
"Very. Are you still talking to Frank tonight?"
"Yea—"
"Patient coming through!" someone shouted but before Alice could even step aside a bed was rushing past her with a boy spewing over the side and all over Alice's new robes and shoes.
"Sorry," the boy said miserably before he was wheeled off in a rush as quickly as he'd come.
Alice grimaced at Marlene, "What was that about me not being the one to wear it?"
"I've got spare robes in my locker," Marlene offered.
The spare robes turned out to be the lime green healer uniform robes and Alice grudgingly put them on with no other option unless she wanted to go about with puke stained robes. The problem with these robes as she made her way down to her lobby, everyone assumed she was a healer.
"Healer Murphy needs assistance in room two-twenty-seven."
"I'm not a healer!"
"Why you wearing god damned healer robes then?"
If that incident weren't bad enough, Alice thought she'd be safe on an elevator but no, a labouring mum and her panicked husband walked in. The husband looked positively furious as the wife screeched in pain, clutching her stomach.
"Are you sure you want to be leaving?" Alice asked as she noticed they didn't press any other buttons and the lobby was the only one lit.
"This is all your fault! My wife's in pain but you people have sent her home until her water's break! Don't they realise she's in pain!?"
"Uh, sir, I'm not a healer but I'm sure they're just doing their job."
"Humph! None of you are healers it seems like! What's the point of having you lot if you're just going to send us home! Uneducated, selfish bastards the lot of you."
Alice quirked an eyebrow. "Sir, perhaps if you paid more attention to your wife instead of cursing healers who are here to help and probably have more education than you do in the area of healing."
"How dare you! First they send my heavily pregnant and contracting wife home because there aren't enough beds! And now you disrespect me! I'll sue this whole goddamn hospital!"
Alice had to listen to his sordid rant all the way down to the lobby and as she walked out she heard him say to the receptionist, "I want to lodge a complaint about that healer on the elevator! Completely unhelpful and rude!" His complaints faded as she stepped out onto the street.
She turned around only to bump right into someone who was holding a drink, a drink which had no option but to spill down Alice's robes. She gritted her teeth at the unknowing muggle.
"I'm so sorry! You kind of came out of nowhere."
Alice smiled ironically, "Kind of like magic, you could say." She turned around and walked off into the alley that was the designated spot to apparate to for St Mungo's only to find a bunch of maintenance wizards.
"We're re-charming, you can floo from inside the hospital," the wizard told her.
"My house isn't connecting to the floo network," Alice said. It truly was the bane of her existence. They were a magical family that wasn't connected to the floo network. They may as well go live in a cave had always been Alice's argument against her parents and Alice had never resonated with that more.
"Knight Bus then." And even more.
"I don't have time for the bus. Please, can I just apparate?"
"Look, lady, no one's allowed to apparate or disapparate from this spot until the new charms go up or you could be looking at a violation of the Magic Protection Act."
"Oh, buggering, perfect," Alice muttered. "Just perfect."
The wizard apologised and suggested the bus again and with no other option Alice walked two blocks to a quiet street and stuck her wand out onto the street. A few moments later, the big purple bus, that Alice detested ever since she went flying over the railing of the second floor and bounced due to a bout of accidental magic across the ground floor for five minutes as the bus kept speeding on when she was five, appeared. Alice paid no less than five sickles — five sickles she could have saved if she were just allowed to apparate — to get to her house in Falmouth.
Alice didn't bother with the unsecured seats and instead held on for dear life on the railing. She checked her watch and cursed. This day could not get any worse. She was going to be late for Frank — as if she needed to be late for anything else today — and she really didn't want to be late. Not for this. She was going to tell Frank about the Order and she wanted things to go smoothly. It seemed fate had other plans though when the bus pulled up in front of her house at a quarter to seven and she was so very, very late.
"Emmeline! Dad!" she called, shrugging out of the drink soaked healer robes as she walked in the door.
Emmeline came out of the drawing room and scrunched up her nose, "You know, lime green really doesn't suit you."
"Yeah, thanks," Alice said. "You know you could've saved me a lot of time by sending a patronus, 'Dad picked me up. At home'."
"And you could've saved me a lot of time by being on time," Emmeline fired back. "Could've saved dad from having to step out at work. What happened?"
"Oh, apparently just the worse day to ever exist. Look, are you okay to be home alone? Frank and I are supposed to meet up like half an hour ago and apparently today is the day for being late because I still have to get changed. I have been vomited on and I have had drink spilled on my robes. I need a shower."
Emmeline bit her lips. "Yeah, go on. Fab's coming over right about now anyways. Frank coming here?"
"No, we're meeting at the house. We're supposed to be arranging some furniture today, trying to unpack as much as possible so when we get back we don't have to do much."
"All right, well go have a shower. I'll get Minx to make me some dinner," and just as the words left Emmeline's mouth, their house elf Minx walked into the room.
"What is Mistress Emmy wanting?"
"Why don't we go see what's in the fridge, Minx."
Alice ran up the stairs, using magic to help her have the quickest shower of her life, using her wand to instantaneously dry her hair — something she hated doing but she could hear her mum's voice, don't go outside with wet hair, you'll get a cold! It almost made her smile that little memory, seemingly insignificant but Alice held onto it.
She walked into their house. Alice smiled at that. Their house.
"Frank!" she shouted, shrugging off her cloak and turning to hang it on a coat stand only to realise there wasn't one. She frowned. "Frank, we really need a cloak stand or some hooks on the wall by the door!"
"Al?" she heard a faint shout from upstairs. "Is that you? I was starting to get worried!"
"I know. I'm late!" she started climbing the stairs, "Why're you up here for?"
"The furniture place sent all the furniture today instead of just the drawing room stuff."
"Wonderful," Alice mused as she leaned against the door to what would be their bedroom. "You did a good job," she said, looking around. A four poster bed was pushed against the farthest wall with their wardrobe opposite, a dressing table with a dainty chair was next to the ensuite door.
Frank came over to her and pecked her lips. "There's only so many ways to do this. I think this maximises floor space."
Alice laughed, "You can worry about floor space all you want as long as we get this place connected to the floo network. I refuse to live in a place that is not connected to the floo network."
"Al-"
"Don't finish that sentence. Now, why don't we go downstairs and put in an order for food to be delivered. There's something I need to tell you."
After their food arrived, they sat on the floor in the living room eating on the still covered in plastic coffee table they'd ordered a few weeks back.
"So what was it you wanted to tell me?"
Alice dropped her fork onto her plate. "There's something that-" A blue patronus the shape of a lion flew into the room and Alice faltered. She didn't want him to find out like this. She didn't recognise the patronus though.
"Operation Niffler a bust. Regrouping at Twinx Park. Plan B a go."
Frank lurched grabbing his wand, cast a patronus and whispered something to it before sending the patronus off and Alice was frozen in place. Frank was in the Order. No other organisation or group of people knew how to use patronuses for communication.
A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. He was a part of the Order but if he was, why hadn't she seen him at any meetings? Why did no one she knew know he was in the Order? Emmeline would've told her. Gideon and Fabian. They would've told her if her fiancé was in the Order but the one thing that rang louder than the rest was that night last February. The night he proposed. Her eyes glazed over the scar on his forehead above his left eyebrow and she shifted away from him.
"I knew it," she whispered. "You lied." She got up off the floor and he followed.
"I didn't lie."
"Yes, yes you did!" She paced away from him, holding a hand to her forehead before turning back. "Valentine's day last year. I asked you if you knew and you — you played dumb and you said you got hurt doing auror work. You lied! You knew about the Order this whole time and judging by that patronus you joined!"
"Anyone who knows about the Order has joined," Frank pointed out. "I never expected you to know and when you asked me if I knew — I didn't, in a million years, think you were talking about the Order. How do you know?"
"It's like you said. Anyone who knows about the Order has joined."
"So you joined. When? How'd you even find out?"
"Em told me about it and Dumbledore approached a few handpicked students from my class and invited them to join. I can't believe you lied to me that night."
"It's not like you've been forthcoming about it either."
"The difference is, I was going to tell you today — now actually. Were you ever going to tell me? You've been there for almost a year — actually it might be longer, I just wouldn't know now, would I? But a year, Frank, and you didn't once think that I might want to know or hell, maybe I'd want to join?"
Frank wiped a hand down his face, "I didn't want you to get hurt."
"You sound like your mother. What because I'm a girl I can't be in the Order? Screw you!"
"No. No! I just thought you'd be safer not knowing about it and I'm a part of a mission that is top secret … that's why I don't attend meetings and why I didn't know your sister is in the Order."
Alice didn't, couldn't look at him. "You should go see if they need help."
Frank went to grab her hand but she flinched away from him. "Al, come on, I don't want to leave it like this."
"Just go, Frank."
"No, I don't need to go and I don't want to go," Frank stood tall. "I know I should've told you but you don't understand. You haven't been in the Order long enough to know."
"To know what?"
His shoulders lowered slightly. "I joined because of Moody. He picked his favourite students and invited us to join. We didn't know what we'd have to sacrifice and you didn't notice because you were in school but I sacrificed things that I didn't even know I'd have to. People I know have sacrificed a great deal more. I had to do things that an Auror wouldn't do. I killed someone, Alice. I sacrificed my morals and I had to cross the line over what I thought was right and what needed to be done. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't want that for you."
Alice wanted to shout and say that it wasn't his choice but something held her back and she nodded. "Okay."
"Seriously?" Frank asked with a raised brow.
Alice sighed and stepped up to him, "Look, I'm not happy about you not telling me but I get why you didn't want to tell me so I'm not mad. Just don't keep things from me. I want to know everything, good and bad."
"I think I can agree to that."
"Good," Alice said. "Now why don't we sit and tell each other all the things we haven't been saying to each other?"
It was stupid really. She'd only invited him to be polite and she ended up playing right into his hands. It all started on Friday morning when Lily received a patronus from Ella.
"Christmas drinks at the Three Broomsticks. 8pm."
Lily shrugged, shaking her head slightly at the misuse of the patronus system but nonetheless sent a patronus to James, who in turn flooed Lily, his head appearing in the flames causing Lily's mum to shriek and spill her tea on the sofa.
"I could invite some guys from the team," James suggested, after Lily had calmed her mum down.
"Hmm, it would be nice to meet them properly."
"All right that settles it. Tell Ella we're in."
Lily sent a patronus back to Ella, "James and I are in. James may bring PudU mates."
Lily went upstairs thinking to herself that she and her friends may need to invest in phones or two-way mirrors or some sort of communication that isn't one-way or requires a fireplace as she readied for the day.
Lily arrived at work as she always did, settling into her usual bench and spreading out various notes across her work space before attempting something that could possibly get them out of the rut they were in. Eventually, Mulciber took his usual spot opposite her and they exchanged pleasantries before focusing in on their work. Lily had found out that Mulciber wasn't the chatty type which didn't make her mission easier at all and if it weren't for the mission, Lily honestly wouldn't have cared at all.
At morning tea, Alexina came over, sitting next to Lily.
"I must say Lily, your notes are simply extraordinary."
"They're not the answer to your problems though."
"Doesn't mean they're not useful. I hope your doing something fun this weekend to relax that pretty brain of yours."
"Going out for drinks tonight actually."
"Your hottie boyfriend wouldn't be joining you, would he?"
"Of course, oh, Xina, you should come if you don't have any plans. We're just heading to the Three Broomsticks and it's pretty casual. I'd love for you to meet James." Lily could feel Mulciber's stare so she knew he'd heard, and so, to be polite she turned to him, "You can come to, Francis. I'm sure Gid will be there as well."
"Oh well, we might just take you up on that offer," Alexina winked and Lily smiled. "I'll see if I can wrangle Xeno out of the house."
The night started out well. Lily dressed up in a pretty mint dress and James picked her up at eight, they snogged at the front of her house for five minutes before apparating to Hogsmeade. Sirius and Ella were cozied up in a booth with Nate and Marlene opposite them. Madam Rosmerta was behind the bar as always and chatter drifted over the music playing from the turntable.
"I hear you're going to be a big quidditch star, Potter," Rosmerta said as she poured both Lily and James a shot of firewhiskey. "I caught you in that last game. You were terrific."
James grinned. "I'm always terrific for you, Rosmerta."
Lily shook her head with a smile at the flirting James just couldn't help but do with Madame Rosmerta.
"Oh, James you keep me young."
James winked, "Lily says that too."
"I thought Lily was younger than you," Rosmerta said and Lily guffawed in laughter at James' shocked face.
"Rosmerta, I must admit, that was rather rude. Lily is a whole two months older than me! A true cougar she is."
Rosmerta smirked. "My mistake." James pulled out a few galleons but Rosmerta waved it away, "First round is on me."
"I knew there was a reason I still flirted with you. I'd kiss you if I didn't have a woman."
Lily nudged him playfully, "James, what have I said about manners?"
"What are manners?"
"Something you clearly don't possess," Rosmerta sighed. "Go on, join your friends. I'll set up a tab for the two of you so you just holler when you want another round and it'll be right over."
"Thanks Rosmerta," Lily smiled, taking her drink.
"Oh, is that the manners you were talking about?" James asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him as she bit her lip to keep her laughter in.
"Come on, you buffoon."
They joined their friends and Lily was surprised to see a few faces from the Order, like the Fawcett sisters and Meadowes showing up together. Helena Bonham, whom Lily actively avoided on all accounts, was sat with her friends a booth over and Emmeline, Caradoc and the Prewett brothers took up another booth. A few of James' PudU mates turned up and James introduced her to them until she spotted Francis Mulciber walk in by himself.
Lily nudged James and she knew he saw too when he pursed his lips. Lily really would like to repeat that she only invited Mulciber because it was the polite thing to do and not because she'd wanted or even expected him to show up. It was a societal rule, you can't make plans in front of someone without inviting them — socialising 101. This was almost an Order event for Merlin's sake so Lily's discomfort at seeing him there was, she would say the same as, having your wand stuck in your ear.
"You came!" Lily exclaimed and in that moment James could've sworn she could make a career in those telly movies her mum made him watch.
"Er, yeah - yeah," Francis said like he wasn't really sure. "Is Xina here yet?"
"I haven't seen her," Lily said. James cleared his throat and Lily placed a hand on his shoulder, "This is my boyfriend, James. James, Francis."
Lily almost cringed when they shook hands and almost rolled her eyes when somehow the conversation was high jacked by Quidditch.
"So, Lily, could you use a refill?" Francis asked her and Lily not able to disguise the fact that she did in fact need a refill as her glass sat empty apart from the few ice cubes at the bottom.
"Uh, sure," she turned to James and leaned in as though giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Be careful," he muttered in her ear.
"Mmmhmm," she assured him, squeezing his arm. "Tell Gid."
They grabbed drinks and stood awkwardly by a tall table and she could feel her mind being blinded by a murky fog. It was an odd sensation. A sensation that told her something was wrong with a capital 'W'. Where the hell was James? Her eyes scanned the room for him and she would've cursed at the sight of him with his back to her talking to his PudU mates if she hadn't forgotten why she was searching for him in the first place.
"Are you in the Order of the Phoenix?"
The fog was making it hard to think but something stopped Lily from answering, because the answer was on the tip of her tongue. Yes. It was right there but she held it back. The fog kept pushing it forward but Lily held it back.
"Are you?" Mulciber pressed.
Lily spared a look into the glass of firewhiskey and noticed the almost undetectable shimmer. Veritaserum. Lily pushed the fog as far back as she could and found the answer she wanted to tell him.
"No." Only answer what is being asked. Don't overdo or he'll figure out that the potion wasn't working.
"Where is Headquarters?"
The fog pushed again but Lily held her ground. "I don't know."
"What's Dumbledore's plan?"
"Dumbledore doesn't have a plan." Except to stop Voldemort.
Eventually he stopped questioning her, the questions getting more and more suspicious until the very last one surprised Lily so much that she almost slipped and asked a question. She was losing her focus. She needed to get out of there and find James.
"Lily, love, Della's here." The sound of his voice and the feel of his hand on her arm was welcomed by Lily with a lot of enthusiasm.
"Thank sweet baby Jesus," Lily muttered, excusing herself from Mulciber and forgetting her drink on the table as James led her away, she grabbed his forearm and slowed him down. "Too fast," she muttered, as the fog swirled inside her, making her feel whoozy. Suddenly, it felt ten times worse than it had when she was standing still.
"Lil? What's wrong?" he turned to face her and she leaned her head on his chest, trying to will the dizziness to go away.
"Veritaserum. Spiked me."
"What?" he hissed.
"Asking me about, about you and the Order." Everything was spinning, spinning, spinning even when she shut her eyes she felt like she was being tossed about the air on a dodgy carnival ride and that felt worse than seeing the room spin so she opened them again and clung to James' shirt.
"About me? What about me?"
God, she really wanted the fog to go. "Um," she had to think hard, too hard but the answer came, "He asked, he asked."
"Lily," he pulled her away cupping her face. "Shh, concentrate. What did he ask?"
She heard the double meaning though. What did you tell him?
She shook her head, "I didn't — the fog was telling me to tell him but I didn't — Jamie, I fought — I didn't, I didn't tell him."
"Love, what did he — wait, you fought the potion?"
"Mmmhmmm — had to," she said, her eyes wanting to flutter shut.
"Oh, fucking shit," he muttered, scooping her legs out from under her. "You're going to be all right. You just need to sleep it off." He pressed his lips to her temple as she leaned in to him.
James paced up and down his bedroom as his dad took a sample of Lily's blood to test all the while lecturing about taking any potion whilst under the effects of alcohol. James wasn't listening to his dad though, how could he? Lily was passed out on his bed because Mulciber spiked her to get information about the Order. Information she may or may not have told him, that part was still hazy.
"I told you she was spiked with veritaserum but she fought it. She said she didn't tell him anything," James told his dad for the fifth time.
"She fought it? Powerful mind. I don't think there's ever been a person on record to fight the truth potion. I wonder if it's the mix of alochol and veritaserum or if it's because she fought it."
"What does her fighting it have to do with anything?"
"The truth potion creates a fog in the mind and it vanishes by telling the truth. Lily resisted the fog, the urge it creates to tell the truth. So the fog could be creating a pressure in her brain. Her blood should be able to tell me what's going on so I'll take this sample and come up with an antidote to help her."
"How long?"
"A few hours."
James nodded, "Thanks dad."
Sirius and Ella walked in, "What happened?" Ella asked sitting next to Lily and brushing her hair aside. "She's warm."
"Mulciber spiked her drink with veritaserum. Asked her about the Order. About me."
"What did she tell him?"
"Nothing. Lied through her teeth. At least that's what she told me before she passed out."
"Does this mean they know that she's in the Order?"
James shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, "I know as much as you. She couldn't really get much out."
James sat up next to Lily as his room slowly filled with their friends. He kept running through Marlene's reassurances that Lily didn't seem to be in any fatal danger but it didn't help to calm his nerves because if she was okay, she'd be awake. The other thing was eating into him too. What did he ask? What did she tell him? What did he know?
Euphemia walked in with a tray of biscuits, James' favourite shortcakes with strawberries and yoghurt, but even James couldn't eat anything as the others talked quietly amongst themselves until Fleamont burst in with something James was much more enthusiastic about.
"This should wake her up. The veritaserum had a bad reaction with the alochol," Fleamont confirmed, going into a small spiel James was sure Lily would be much more interested in and Fleamont held the potion close to Lily's nose.
"She doesn't need to drink it?" Sirius asked.
Fleamont shook his head, "I made it strong enough so the fumes will do just fine. Works better with unconscious patients. Now that should do it." Fleamont stepped away and Lily's eyes fluttered open before sitting up straight.
"James!" she whipped around at his touch. "Mulciber — truth potion and asking me all sorts of questions about the Order. Who was in it and what Dumbledore's plan is and-and about you but it doesn't make sense. I don't know how he even knew it was you that day."
James pushed her hair back cupping her face, "What did he ask?"
"He asked if you stole a book from Malfoy Manor."
A beat. "What?"
"Well, I don't know," Lily said exasperated, "Did you?"
"Steal a book? No, it was more of a," James slid off the bed, rushing to his wardrobe and started searching through it for the robes he wore that day. He patted down pockets until he lifted out a black, "Journal."
Sirius stood up to see it, "I'd say it's more of a diary."
"It doesn't have a lock, it's a journal," James argued.
"We're wizards, just because there's no lock doesn't mean there isn't some charm protecting it."
"Nothing's in it," James argued, flicking through it to show his point.
"That you can see," Sirius pointed out.
"We can argue about that later. Why the hell do they want it so much?" Lily asked and even James and Sirius conceded their fight to think about it. No one could come up with an answer though.
Author's note: Hello everybody!
Thanks for reading and I hope this chapter coming sooner than usual makes you happy because it makes me happy :)
I am officially on uni holidays for a month so hopefully I manage to squeeze more writing in though it's hard because even though I said I had all this ready to go, me reading my writing from years ago is not going well and I'm doing a lot of major changes as I go and when I say major I mean major. Honestly, I'm taking aspects of the first draft and shoving them into this one but a lot of things have changed like Lily and James' occupation and I've done some reshuffling with the timeline not to mention changing this from only lily/James perspective into multiple perspectives so please bear with me.
Reviews are better than chocolate, follow if you want to keep up to date with updates and favourite if you just wanna say, hey I like this.
Major love to everyone who reads :)
-Natalie xx