"I still don't see the point," Ron grumbled.
"Ron, would you please stop your whinging?" Lily said. "I'm taking a big risk here, you know?"
She was, as a matter of fact. She was breaking her promise to Lupin, taking a more active role in helping Ron practice, since he was, apparently, incapable of doing so on his own. And, so, the two third years found themselves inside an empty classroom on an exceptionally nice day, moving their way slowly down Lily's list of spells.
"I've got stunning, Lily," Ron said, "Let's do something else! What about that Reflection Charm of yours, we can-"
"Ron," Lily said patiently, "exams are in a week. We don't have the time!"
"Fine," Ron grumbled. "Let's work on those, then. Lupin wants us to review every spell we've learned, and I've only done half of them."
"Good idea!" Lily said enthusiastically. "We could practice the Choking Curse!"
"Lily," Ron said nervously, "I- err- I don't think Lupin actually wants us to learn how to- we're only supposed to be learning how to counteract it, aren't we? Besides, how would we even figure it out? It's not like it's in our books, is it?"
"I found it in the restricted section," Lily said happily, hurrying over to her bag to rummage for the shrunken, aged tome.
"What were you doing in the bloody restricted section?" Ron asked. Lily could practically imagine the horrified expression on his face, even without looking. She had to spend all her concentration on flipping gingerly through the yellowed pages. If she was too rough, she'd accidentally tear a page, and that meant Pince would do everything she could to hunt her down, even if nobody knew she had the book in the first place.
"Looking up spells, Ron," she said. She went right past the Confringo section, remembering that distant night fondly.
"Lily, I don't know about this," Ron said nervously. "Learning how to counter it is one thing, but casting it is something else entirely."
"The incantation is Suffocoatum," Lily said, ignoring him. "You just point your wand and-"
"Lily, it's dark magic," Ron said.
"Is it?" Lily said, trying not to sound too excited.
"Lily, please," Ron said, not sounding fooled. "We can't just go using it on each other like it's-"
"I wasn't going to use it on you," Lily said. "But if I can get Black with it, it should distract him long enough for you to-"
"We aren't learning this, Lily," Ron insisted. "Any of it. You're going to put the tome back where you found it, and we're going to study for our exams like normal people."
"Is that right?" Lily said dangerously. "I seem to remember a certain someone promising to help me take on a mass murderer. This is something he'd know, don't you think? Don't you think we should at least do the same?"
Ron looked like he was about to argue further, and Lily was preparing for the row, but neither got the chance. The door opened to their empty little classroom, and Lily whirled back to her bag, whispering a hurried shrinking charm so she could shove the book back in before Hermione and Neville could see.
"I told you they've been in here," Neville said, not looking in their direction yet. Lily did not like the glare Hermione was giving her, nor the way her eyes lingered on her bag.
"We were just-" Ron began to say.
"Lily, what are you doing in here?" Hermione shrieked.
"We were-" Ron tried again.
"We were practicing spells," Lily admitted casually, running a hand through her hair. "Exams are around the corner, aren't they?"
"Without us?" Neville asked curiously.
"Ron really needed help," Lily said. "If you'll excuse us, we need to get back to-"
"Hagrid wants to have tea," Hermione said in a grumpy tone, crossing her arms. "We've been trying to find you all day, we're going to be late if we don't get going."
Lily couldn't think of an excuse to refuse, especially not one that wouldn't anger a very irate looking Hermione, so they found themselves walking down the sunny, way-too-hot grounds towards Hagrid's Hut.
"Lily, you need to stop scratching at your scar," Hermione said with a sniff. Lily didn't dignify that with a response. She couldn't help that it was itchy, nor that it wouldn't stop tingling.
"It is hot, isn't it?" Neville asked. His face was already flushed from how warm he felt, even though they just left the castle.
"It is June," Ron said. He kept swiping his hair out of his eyes.
"We should be studying for our exams," Hermione said, giving Lily an indignant look.
"What?" Lily asked, scratching her scar again.
"You haven't studied in the common room with us for two weeks," Hermione said, eyes narrowed.
"I've been busy," Lily said with a shrug.
"Busy doing what, exactly?" Hermione asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Studying," Lily said. She took the initiative and knocked on Hagrid's door. She didn't want this conversation continuing. She felt bad enough keeping secrets from Hermione after everything they went through together, but there was no way she'd let them keep going.
Lily sat down in her favourite armchair with a small cup of tea. The others took up the table, like they normally did.
"You ready for exams?" Hagrid asked the whole lot of them.
"I don't know," Lily said with a shrug. "I feel like I'm still so far behind with everything."
"Well, maybe you wouldn't be if you stuck to our schedule," Hermione said with another sniff. "We haven't gone to the classroom in-"
"Give her a break, Hermione," Ron said. "She's had other things on her mind."
"Like Sirius Black?" Neville suggested.
"Exactly," Lily mumbled into her cup. She noticed the look Ron gave her, but she didn't exchange it. Hermione was still staring at her.
"Hope he gets caught soon," Hagrid said as he sat, his chair creaking under him. "Can' stand these dementors hangin' about. Reminds me too much o' Azkaban."
"What was it like, Hagrid?" Ron asked far too eagerly for Lily's liking. Just thinking of the dementors made her extremely uncomfortable. The last thing she wanted to imagine was being surrounded by them every second of every day.
She'd definitely go mad.
"Dreadful," Hagrid said in a grunt. "Felt like I'd never be happy again, like every bit of warmth and love got sucked right out o' me. Only thing that kep' me sane was knowin' I was innocent."
"I don't think they'll be here next year," Lily said. She saw Hermione give her a look and hurriedly made a sip of her tea, hoping nobody would catch on. Unfortunately, Ron was staring right at her, his brow furrowed.
"What are you on about?" he asked. Hermione nodded at Lily, and she sighed as she set down her cup.
"I'm not coming back to Hogwarts," she said. She held up a hand to try and silence all the outbursts that followed, but it was never going to work, in hindsight.
"You can'!" Hagrid said in horror.
"I'll miss you," Neville said loudly.
"You've lost it!" Ron said in outrage. "You were just going to leave without saying anything?"
"Of course not," Lily said. "That's why I'm saying something now. Hermione's been on my case about it for-"
"You knew?" Ron asked Hermione.
"I'm going with her," Hermione said quietly. "We thought it'd be nice to-"
"That settles it, then," Ron said. "I'm going, too."
"Ron, you can't," Lily said with a sigh.
"Why not?" Ron said. "If you're going, I'm-"
"You don't speak French, Ron," Lily said. "We're going to Beauxbatons. Besides, your marks aren't good enough to transfer. I only got in because of my name!"
"You don't speak it either!" Ron said.
"We've been practicing, actually," Lily said slowly, Ron's mood darkening at every word of the foreign language. "I've made us potions and everything, just to speed things up."
"Why Beauxbatons?" Neville asked.
"Because the College of Circe wouldn't take us," Lily said. "They only take girls, and their stupid Headmistress is one of those nutters that still thinks I'm a boy."
"Why would you want to go to Greece?" Ron asked with a scowl.
"Because the weather sounded nice," Lily said with a shrug. "We applied to both, and while Madame Maxime seemed excited, Circe said-"
"Circe's dead," Neville said.
"All Headmistresses take her name, Neville," Hermione said. "The school was founded by and named after her."
"Oldest magical school in Europe," Lily said, resuming her tea drinking. It really was a pleasant day out. "That's why Hermione wanted to go."
"Did you know wands were invented there?" Hermione said, getting excited. "They still have the lab on the campus and-"
"Why are you leaving, Lily?" Ron asked. "I mean, really. Why?"
"Because I don't want to be here anymore," Lily said simply. "I'm tired of Malfoy and everything else."
"Actually," Hermione said carefully, "there's been a rumour going about the common room lately that Malfoy's leaving, Hogwarts."
"See!" Ron said. "You don't have to go!"
"Why's Malfoy leaving?" Lily asked with a frown.
"His parents split up," Neville said, his face flushing slightly when they all looked at him. "Gran told me a while ago. His mum moved out over the Easter Holidays, took all of his things with her."
"Why would she do that?" Lily asked.
"Don't know," Neville said with a shrug. "Gran says Lucius won't stop complaining about you, though, so she reckons it must be your fault."
"Figures," Lily said.
"She's not mad about this one, Lily," Neville said with a smile. "She thinks it's brilliant, actually. Wanted me to have you over the summer so she can give you her thanks personally. Says the Governors have about had it with Lucius, since he's 'obsessed with defaming a thirteen-year-old girl.'"
"We'll see," Lily said, draining her first of undoubtedly many cups. "Malfoy or no Malfoy, I'm still going. He's just one of many reasons."
"You can' leave, Lily," Hagrid said, finally finding his voice again. "Hogwarts is the best school available, you won't find anything like it!"
"Maybe," Lily said with a shrug. "But maybe that's just all talk."
"Where are you going to live?" Neville asked.
"With the Weasleys?" Lily said with a nervous laugh. "I'd still come home for the holidays, Neville."
"We won't get as many days , though," Hermione said. "Beauxbatons uses the same schedules as Muggle schools, and they have longer school years. Madame Maxime said she'd happily arrange a portkey for us, though, so we can still visit home."
"You can't leave," Ron said desperately. "Neither of you. You don't even have permission! Have you even asked mum and dad, Lily?"
"Yes," Lily said with a nod, taking the chance to pour herself some more tea since Hagrid apparently forgot his manners. "And they both think I should go if it'll make me happier."
"That's it, then?" Ron asked, all hope gone, a tremor of anger in his voice.
"That's it," Lily said, feeling just a bit bad. She really should have told him sooner. She picked her cup back up.
"Dumbledore knows too, then?" Hagrid asked.
"He approved it months ago," Lily said, taking a sip.
"Who else knows?" Neville asked.
"Just you guys, for now," Lily said. "And your parents. Haven't told- oh, Sae knows, too. But don't go telling anybody else. I already get enough arguments from her."
"You told her before me?" Ron asked, nothing but hurt in his voice. Lily drank more tea to swallow down her own emotions.
"Why did you wait so long to tell us?" Neville asked.
"Because I wasn't looking forward to it," Lily admitted.
"Does Katie know?" Ron asked.
"Katie?" Lily repeated. "Why would that matter? We haven't talked in-"
"I don't know what you did to her, Lily," Ron said, talking fast, as if this was his last chance to convince her, "but all she's done for months is talk about how much you hate her and how much she can't stand it."
"Really?" Lily asked. She swallowed the lump out of her throat, feeling ashamed.
"I she wanted to win the Cup more badly than Wood," Ron said. "She thought you'd talk to her again if we did."
"How do you even know all this?" Lily asked.
"She's been hanging around us," Neville said awkwardly. "She keeps asking about you."
"I keep telling her to just come see you with us," Ron continued, "but she won't do it. What did you do to her?"
"Nothing," Lily said quietly. It was what she didn't do that was the issue.
"You have to tell her before you leave," Ron said. "If you don't, I will. She won't be able to take it if you leave without."
"Alright," Lily said.
"Well, this calls for somethin' special," Hagrid said, blowing loudly into a handkerchief. They all watched as he walked towards his cabinet and pulled out a huge, brown bottle.
"Wicked," Ron said, still a trace of his true feelings showing in his voice.
"You can't serve us brandy, Hagrid," Hermione said indignantly.
"Just a sip won' hurt yeh," Hagrid said. He brought out four mugs and then lifted the bottle. He brought up right up to his eyes, squinting hard at it. "Blimey, I think somethin's in it."
"Lovely," Hermione and Lily said together.
Hagrid uncorked the bottle and shook it over his bucket-size cup (always reserved for himself). Before anybody could say anything or react, Hagrid smacked the bottom of the bottle, and out popped something large, brown, and hairy.
"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, knocking his seat over in his haste to get up. Lily could hear the rat shrieking and scrambling, desperately trying to get out of the bucket. Ron tried to scoop Scabbers out, hissed in pain, and then the skinny rat was sprinting across the floor, trying to get away.
"Claustricreavi!" Lily shouted, wand already out. A metal cage sprang into existence around Scabbers, encasing him in cold iron, and the rat shrieked louder in his desperation.
"He bit me," Ron said in disgust. "He's never bitten me."
"When did you learn that?" Neville asked, sounding impressed.
"Studied it," Lily said. A glance towards Hermione told her that the other girl was very proud of the progress they made together. This one was a fourth-year spell that Lily insisted on learning early, as she thought it would help against Sirius Black.
"He bit me," Ron repeated, staring at his bloody finger.
"Here," Hagrid said, tossing him a roll of cloth. "Wonder what he was doin' in there."
"Maybe he wanted to get pissed," Lily suggested. She scooped the cage off the ground and placed it gently on the table, the rat still screaming in fear. "At least this means Weasley didn't kill him."
"Sorry," Ron said sheepishly. He pulled Scabbers' cage into his lap, staring down at the rat with a strange look in his eyes.
"Don't be," Lily said. "I thought he did, too. How's a rat even fake his own death?"
"I don't think he did," Hermione said. "He probably just escaped."
"Scabbers has never tried to escape before," Ron mumbled.
"Maybe Black is after him," Lily said with a smile. "'Traitorous rat,' remember?"
Ron snorted. "Gives us another reason to find him, I suppose. Reckon that spell will-"
"Lily, you aren't," Hermione said.
"Thanks, Ron," Lily grumbled, sinking back into her armchair.
"Please tell me the two of you aren't trying to find Sirius Black," Hermione said, her voice shrill, her eyes darting between the two criminals.
"We aren't!" Ron said. Nobody was looking at him, anymore. They were all looking at her, waiting for her to tell her lie so they could be angry.
"He's why my parents are dead," Lily said instead, lifting her head high. "I have to find him."
"Lily-"
"And you should have told me," Lily said, rounding on Hagrid. "You knew what he was all along, but nobody said anything until last month."
"How could I?" Hagrid said sheepishly. "Blimey, Lily, yeh- yeh have to understan'! It's kep' me up every night since he escaped, thinkin' about what would've happened if I'd let him take yeh when yer parents died."
"What do you mean?" Lily asked.
"He was there," Hagrid said. "Righ' when I carried yeh out, he was there, he and that bike o' his. He asked ter take yeh himself, but I said, 'Dumbledore's orders, I have ter take her ter her relatives.' Let me borrow his bike an' everythin', didn' even fight it."
"He let you take his bike?" Lily asked. "Why would he do that if he wanted me dead?"
"Dunno," Hagrid admitted. "Must've been mad already, with You-Know-Who freshly gone an' all."
"Lily," Hermione said patiently, "I understand why you're upset, but you can't go looking for Sirius Black. He. Will. Kill. You." She said the last bit in French, so Lily's brain would take the extra time to process it, probably thinking it'd be more convincing that way.
"Not if I do it first," Lily said, not phased at all.
"You?" Hagrid said with a laugh. "Blimey, Lily, you cried o'er yer Flobberworms, no way yeh'll be able ter do it."
"We'll see," Lily said, sipping her tea.
"Lily, you can't go after him," Hermione said. "This is stupid, this isn't even like the last years, you aren't trying to protect anything! You'll get yourself killed for nothing!"
"Maybe she's right, Lily," Ron said, not daring to look at her.
"Ron," Lily said in a warning tone, "you promised."
"Look, mate," Ron bravely soldiered on, "I- I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I was hoping you'd just- you'd just change your mind. But she's right. Maybe we should give it up."
"Ron-"
"You almost died, Lily," Ron continued. "Both times. I don't want to see you like that, not again."
"Ron-"
"Please, Lily," Hermione said, looking like she desperately agreed with Ron's last statement.
Lily looked between the four of them, all giving her the same look of pity, all trying to shame her into doing what they thought was right.
"You don't get it," Lily said quietly. She set her cup down and stood from her seat.
"Lily-"
"None of you get it," Lily said again, louder this time. "My parents would still be here if it weren't for him. I wouldn't be miserable, I wouldn't be leaving Hogwarts, I'd be happy if it wasn't for him."
"Lily-"
"I'm going to find him," Lily said, "And when I do, I- I'm-"
"Lily!" Hermione said one more time.
"I'm leaving," Lily said. She pushed out the door without another word and ran all the way to the castle. She had no idea if anybody was following her, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be alone.
Lily didn't really know where she was going, but she didn't want to go anywhere somebody would be able to find her. Letting her feet guide her, she climbed all the way to the top floor. She briefly considered the Secret Chamber, as nobody would ever be able to get in there.
Instead, she found herself climbing the Astronomy Tower. She had no idea why she was doing it; perhaps Ron's words triggered something in her. She just wanted to see Katie. Without the map, this was the only place she had any chance of finding her.
The balcony was empty when she arrived. She sat against the wall, back leaning against the stone, and she pulled her legs to her chest while she waited. It wasn't hot up here. The Astronomy Tower could hold off the heat, too, it seemed, but it would still let a pleasant breeze glide against Lily's skin, cooling off the heat of her anger.
She wondered what her new school would be like once she left. Would it have towers? Would it have a giant squid in its lake? Would it have its own version of Professor Snape? Merlin, she certainly hoped not.
Would she still be miserable?
What would she do if it wasn't any better? She never even considered that before; she thought only that it would have to be better. That was the same way she thought before, back with the Dursleys. She only wanted out. She never considered that everything could get so much worse, even while it was becoming so much better.
Maybe it comes in pairs, she thought. Maybe, just maybe, as life became better, it became worse.
If that was the case, did she really want to risk it? She couldn't handle worse. She knew that much. She reached a breaking point in December. She didn't like to think about it, didn't like to think about how close she came to death, but it was true. If Lupin didn't wake up, if he didn't run after her, she would be dead right now.
Lily placed her chin on her arms.
"What am I doing?" she asked herself.
She was doing it again. She was throwing herself into danger without thinking about the consequences. She didn't even like danger. Thinking about the forbidden corridor in her first year still brought on anxiety, still made her feel like throwing up. Thinking about the Chamber of Secrets made her feel even worse. And now she was voluntarily throwing herself back into it, chasing after Black just for, what, revenge? At least she had good reasons in the first two years.
And, when she left the school both years, after everything she went through, she felt happy. She desperately wanted to come back to Hogwarts, didn't really want to leave at all. Even last summer, it was all she ever wanted.
And now she was here, and all she wanted was to leave and never come back.
Her parents went to school here. They were Gryffindors, and while she wasn't now, it was where she originally belonged. She had the bloody tapestry stored away in her treasure box. Gryffindor was her home. That was where she wanted to be. Slytherin could never be a home to her.
No, she was still going to be leave. She couldn't go back to Gryffindor; the hat would never consider it. If she stayed here, nothing would ever get better, no matter what she really felt inside.
"Stop that," Lily told herself. She wasn't supposed to think that way anymore. Petunia was wrong.
She deserved something good in her life. That was why she came up here in the first place, even though the thought of seeing Katie again terrified her. She just wished she understood why. She closed her eyes shut tight and tried to will the cupboard door open. She just wanted to remember, no matter how much it hurt her. It was the only way to move on. Lupin kept telling her that, and it had to be true. She always felt better after talking with him. He was right. Petunia was wrong.
But nothing came. The door stayed locked.
Lily let out a sigh and buried her face between her knees. She would wait a little longer, and then she was going to go talk with the professor. She felt like she needed it. She was going to leave school, but she wasn't going to go after Black anymore. She didn't want to be hateful, wanting to get revenge for people she never even knew. And she needed to talk to him about Katie, talk to him about feeling-
"Told you the freak'd be up here," Flint's stupid voice said. Lily opened her eyes and glanced towards the two Slytherins, feeling nothing but disappointment. She felt like she was close to something, even if it wasn't the memory. And, now, it was all gone.
"Come with us, Potter," Montague said, gesturing behind him with his thumb. "Snape needs to see you."
"No, he doesn't," Lily said. She inched her hand closer to her left sleeve. "He wouldn't send you two to get me."
Flint had his wand out first. He never said anything, but thick, black ropes shot from his wand before she could get off a spell. She might have done, if Montague didn't disarm her with a silent cast. The ropes bound around her quickly, clamping her arms, hands, and legs together, not allowing her to move so much as a single digit.
Lily realized at that moment that she never could have taken any of the seventh years, that she couldn't have taken Black, no matter how good anybody said she was. The difference between their experience, their educations, even with two trolls like Flint and Montague, was immeasurable. And that thought terrified her down to her very core.
"Let me go," Lily shouted, hoping someone would hear. Her voice would never carry to the grounds, but maybe-
"Shut her up, Flint," Montague said with a sneer.
"Don't-"
Lily barely had the word out before Flint gagged her with a flick of his wand. Her tongue stuck to the top of her mouth and no matter how hard she tried to make noise, not so much as a single moan or grunt could be heard. It felt like she didn't even have a mouth.
"You carry her," Flint said. "I'll take point, make sure nobody sees us."
"I'm not going to carry her, she's fuckin' huge, mate," Montague said.
"Oh, just do it," Flint said. "He asked me to get her, didn't he?"
"Hey, that's not-"
"I'm in charge here," Flint said. "You carry the fatass."
Montague hauled her over his shoulder, swearing under his breath all the while, and Lily felt her panic increasing. She tried to fight, tried to squirm out of her bindings, but it was no use.
"Keep moving, runt, and I'll break your jaw," Montague said as he brought her down the stairs, breathing hard with each step.
Calm down, Lily thought, squeezing her eyes shut and picturing the closed cupboard door. Just wait it out. You'll get a chance. You're smarter than these trollbrains, just wait.
She shut the fear out and steadied her breathing.
Montague and Flint took her to the same hidden, dusty staircase she always used to get downstairs. Lily was just surprised they knew about it. Montague was sweating hard by the time they reached the dungeons.
"You take her, Marcus," he said. "I can't carry her much further." Flint just laughed at that and started off down a dark corridor, the opposite direction of the common room. Lily tried to make noise again, hoping someone would be nearby, but she still couldn't manage anything.
Calm down. We'll get a chance. Everything will be fine.
"It's not that much further, Graham, you'll manage."
"Oi, you duffer, you try hauling her around, see how you manage."
Just wait. You'll get a chance. Lily tried to squirm her hands closer together, so she could reach her wand, only to realize it was still up at the Astronomy Tower. That it made it a bit more difficult to stay calm.
Lily couldn't see anything. Both boys had their wands lit, but it wasn't bright enough to light anything behind them, and that was the direction she was facing. The air became colder and damper as they walked until, finally, they stopped.
"Supremacy cannot be contained," Flint said. Lily was confused, but she heard stone scraping against stone, and then they started walking again, this time heading upstairs. Lily watched in horror as the hidden entryway slid closed behind them. This one was never on the map. If Lupin happened to look right now, he wouldn't see it.
"Seriously, mate," Montague said, breathing hard again, "I can't carry her much longer."
"Oh, quit your whinging, will you? It's not that much further."
She heard more grinding stone, and then they were back out in the sunlight and the heat. Lily prayed somebody would see them, but as they kept walking, she realized where they were; they were on the cliff face, back where they docked the boats way back in first year before climbing up to the castle. Nobody ever came down here.
They carried her up more steps, Montague grumbling and complaining the entire time, and then kept going until they reached another familiar, unpopulated spot.
The Whomping Willow.
Flint aimed his wand at the tree's base, where a strange knot was, and he hit it with some sort of yellow blast.
"We'll have to drag her from here," Flint said.
"You do it, then," Montague said. He threw Lily unceremoniously to the ground. She hit it, hard, and felt and felt a tooth crack under the pressure. Her eyes were watering as Flint dragged her towards the tree's base. She wondered if they were just going to leave her there to die but, to her horror, she was dragged into a dark, cramped tunnel, where only her worst nightmares lived. Now she was crying, any attempts to calm herself utterly failing.
She was going to die. She didn't want to, she realized, even as it became inevitable. That only made her feel worse.
Flint dragged her for a long time, the two boys throwing jeers and insults her way once they realized she was crying. By the time they stopped, Lily's head was sore from all the bumps, and she was sure she was bleeding from several different spots.
They came out of the tunnel onto rotted, dusty wood. Lily saw several pawprints and footprints in the disturbed areas. There were broken bits of furniture and glass all over, with long claw marks gnarled into the walls, the windows long since boarded up.
"Take her to the bedroom," Flint said, panting for breath. "That's where he'll want her."
"You do it."
"Graham, just once, do what I say, you fuckin' wanker."
Montague threw her back over his shoulder and grumbled as he carried her up the rickety stairs. Lily was shaking, her eyes squeezed shut until she felt Montague stop moving.
The bed was already broken, the sheets and musty mattress coated in dirt and dust. There were large holes in the ground, near the far wall, and Montague took a wide berth from them and then threw her to the ground in the center of the room. Lily felt her bad tooth ache, felt the floorboards almost give way under her.
"He's not here," Montague said, looking around. "Told you we couldn't trust the rat."
"He'll be here soon enough," Flint said.
"Should we just leave her?" Montague said, scratching his head. "Not like anyone'll look for her here. Think that's why he picked it?"
"I don't see why we can't have a bit of fun before he kills her." Flint said, giving Lily a nasty smile.
Please don't, Lily thought desperately, squeezing her eyes shut again. Somebody, anybody, just this once, please help me.
"I'll go first," Montague said, pulling out his wand. "I've been wanting to teach this slag a lesson for months."
"Suit yourself," Flint said, looking at her with an expression that filled her with complete despair. "Just don't break her. I want to hear her scream."
"Crucio," Montague said.
Lily's tongue ripped from the roof of her mouth as she screamed and rolled on the ground. Her skin, muscles, and bones writhed in complete agony. It felt like somebody was skinning her alive, like they were burning her, like her bones were being shaved and pounded into dust. The seconds dragged into centuries, but all she could do was scream.
Lily coughed when the spell finally broke, her body completely drenched in sweat, and she tasted blood from biting through her lip. She tried to crawl away, sobbing, splinters tearing at her chin in her rush and desperation.
"Bloody hell, did you see that?" Montague said, sounding excited.
"Didn't know it could make hair change like that," Flint said, licking his lips.
"Go on, then, have a turn," Montague said, elbowing him in the ribs.
"Crucio," Flint said eagerly.
Lily screamed again, her head pounding, her scar splitting open. She could hear somebody laughing, deep inside her skull, cruel, humanless mirth.
"He's found him, Quirrell," she said. She was sitting in a manor of some sort, in a fancy, elaborate chair in front of a fireplace. She felt so small. The python wrapped around her was larger.
"Wormtail?" Quirrell asked. She recognized his voice, even though she couldn't see him.
"Who else?" she asked, her voice raspy. She laughed again. "It seems you were right to look for him. Despite his cowardice, he has proved useful. Soon, he'll bring him to me, and then we can finish it. Do you have the rest ready?"
"Of course I do," Quirrell said, sounding proud. "We can brew it whenever necessary."
"Excellent," she said, as she snapped back into reality.
"Hazel?" a distant, unfamiliar voice said. "It's alright, you're safe, I'm here."
"I have suffered for far too long," she said, her weak, fragile hand stroking the scales of the great snake fondly.
"Yes, Master," Quirrell agreed.
"Lucius!" she snapped. "Nagini is hungry. Fetch her another bird."
"At once," the familiar drawl said from nearby.
"Hazel? Can you hear me?"
"Soon, Quirrell," she said, leaning back further into her seat. "Soon, it'll all be over."
"As you say, Master," Quirrell said. He moved nearby, but she didn't bother looking at him, not even as he brought a potion to her lips. She drank the foul liquid without a single complaint, felt it make her just a bit stronger as it settled within her form.
"Soon," she said, "Harry Potter will be dead, and Lord Voldemort will rise again."