Lily's parents let them take their car, a well-loved vehicle that had seen better days. The seats were faded and worn, and the floor needed a good vacuum. Lily was acutely aware of its flaws as she climbed into it, especially since she knew that James and Sirius came from such wealthy families.

Her parents had insisted Petunia come along, and so Petunia sat in the front beside her, stiff and angry. As Lily started the engine, she could see Petunia forcefully drumming her fingers along her bony knee.

"Whoa," James said, as the car rumbled to life.

Lily glanced back at him in the rear view mirror. Dressed as pristinely as he was, he looked out of place in the old car. "Have you never been in a car before? I thought the ministry uses cars."

"My family doesn't. Didn't."

"My family wouldn't be caught dead in a muggle contraption," said Sirius.

Lily was surprised to see that both looked nervous.

"Erm, Evans… don't people die in these things?" James asked.

"Sometimes," she admitted, pulling away from the curb.

"Brilliant," James said faintly.

"And Lily's a new driver," Petunia added, a malicious note in her voice. "If anyone would kill us, it's a new driver."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Lily said.

The scenic Scottish countryside rolled by as they left the town. In consideration of her nervous passengers, Lily drove extra carefully, nearly following the speed limit rather than her usual speed. Even so, by the time they reached Craig na Dun, both James and Sirius were quite pale.

"Good work, Evans," James said, clambering out of the vehicle.

"See? That wasn't so bad."

He smiled weakly. "I think I prefer a broomstick."

Petunia let out a noise of disgust.

"Why did you learn to drive?" Sirius asked. "You're a witch. Surely you don't have to-"

"It seemed like a good thing to know how to do, especially coming from a muggle family," she said shortly.

Together, they climbed the hill, Petunia trailing behind.

"This is going to ruin my shoes!"

Lily looked and saw that Petunia was wearing white high heels.

"Why didn't you say something? We could have waited for you to change your shoes," Lily said.

Petunia's expression soured. "I didn't expect to climb a dirty hill!"

"We can switch shoes, if you'd like?"

"I don't want your ugly shoes."

"Your sister's a real piece of work," Sirius muttered to her.

She frowned at him. "Don't insult my sister."

Sirius held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, fine."

"I suppose you'll just leave me behind, then?" Petunia's shrill voice sounded from further down the hill.

"We'll meet you there," Lily said with a sigh, turning back.

"Nah, I'll help her," Sirius said. "I imagine you could use a break from her."

It was an unexpectedly kind offer, and Lily was taken aback.

"Thank you," she said.

As Sirius walked back to Petunia, Lily and James continued up the hill.

"So, this place is magic," James said. "Time is thin… what do you suppose that means?"

"Ghosts? Time travel?"

"If you could travel back in time, where would you go?"

Lily considered. "I'd go back to my first day at Hogwarts."

"Why?"

Lily shrugged. "Magic was so full of possibilities and wonder then. It was before I knew about any of the bad stuff in the wizarding world, so it was exciting to know that I could do magic, that the possibilities were endless."

James looked at her with a furrowed brow. "So you're disillusioned with magic now?"

"No, I still love it. I wouldn't trade being a witch for anything."

He opened his mouth, but she cut him off before he could speak.

"What about you?"

"I would go back to two months ago and give my mum one more hug." His voice caught on the last word, and he had to take a moment to collect himself.

"James…"

"What are you planning to do after your vacation?"

They had reached the stones, but Lily's attention was entirely on James.

"What?"

"I don't buy this nonsense about you not knowing what you're doing." When she didn't answer, he said, "You're planning to fight, aren't you? Against You-Know-Who. Dumbledore recruited you?"

She nodded.

"Me too," he said simply.

She blinked at him. "Really?"

"You're surprised."

"Well, yes. They're targeting people like me, like my family. I have to fight, to make the world safe for people like us. You don't."

"Just because I'm not personally affected doesn't mean I don't care. What they're doing is wrong."

"That's noble of you." She was surprised to find she meant it.

"I can't be an arrogant toerag all the time. It would get tiresome."

She grinned. "I did call you that, didn't I?"

"Yes. Deserved it, too."

"It's a good thing we got here when we did. It's getting dark. Any later and we wouldn't be able to see the damn stones," Sirius said from behind them.

Lily and James both jumped.

Although it was dim now, Lily could easily see the fury on Petunia's face. She had taken off her shoes, and carried them punched between her fingers. The white was ruined.

James pulled out his wand. "Wouldn't want you to face your fear of the dark Sirius," he joked. "Lumos."

Petunia shrieked as a light appeared at the end of James's wand.

"Can't you put that away?" she snapped.

Stumbling, she tripped and fell flat on the muddy ground.

"No!" she wailed, pulling herself up to see her stained dress.

Sirius burst out laughing, and James joined in. Lily rushed to help Petunia. With a cry of rage, Petunia shoved Lily to the ground as well. The laughter abruptly stopped.

"You're such a freak," Petunia shouted. "I can't believe I had to come along with you! I can see the way you and Potter are looking at each other. I bet you can't wait to abandon me somewhere so you can play his slut for the night-"

At first, Lily was too stunned to react, but she quickly found that her patience was at its end. Without thinking, she pulled out her wand.

"How dare you call me that!"

Petunia flinched away, and Lily suddenly realized what she was doing, pointing a wand at a defenceless muggle, at her sister.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry…"

"Lily…" James said.

There was something in his voice that scared her. She followed his gaze, and suddenly, every thought left her head, replaced by panic.

The dark mark was visible in the distance, in the town where she had left her parents.

This time, speed limits were forgotten. As soon as the four of them had made it down the hill, Lily started the engine and sped off towards the town. They drove in silence, broken only by Petunia's steady sobbing.

It was a ghost town, now. Anything that had taken place there that evening was over, and only carnage remained. Broken glass littered the ground. Furniture and books and souvenirs were strewn across the street. It was impossible to keep from stepping on things. Lily walked over the remnants of postcards, the shattered glass of snow globes and windows.

All the lights were out, besides the light of the dark mark. Lily, James, and Sirius lit their wands, and Petunia followed, any protest against magic forgotten in the face of this war zone.

And the bodies. They were everywhere. No wounds, just faces contorted in shock. People in pyjamas mostly, roused by the violence in the streets.

Lily ran when they reached the street of the bed and breakfast. No, no, they couldn't be dead. They were hiding in their room. They had to be.

But the inn was silent. She knew what she'd find, even before she made it to the room. The inn's door hung open, swinging with a creak in the light breeze. In and out, like a breath. But Lily couldn't breathe. No, no…

They lay on the floor beside each other. She had hoped they would look peaceful, but the surprise was clear on their faces. It seemed like an innocent expression: why would these people hurt us?

Why didn't you warn us, Lily? Why didn't you tell us that there were people like this?

She was on her knees beside them, and she was almost surprised that the inhuman wail in the room was coming from her. Suddenly, arms were wrapped around her, and she was crying on James's shoulder. He was warm and solid and comforting, something she could hold onto when everything was falling apart.

She thought things were too fractured to be broken further, but then Petunia's voice sounded from behind her, cold and calm. If Lily's grief was a hurricane, Petunia's was a glacial lake.

"This is your fault."

"Shut up," Sirius hissed at her.

Petunia ignored him. Before Lily could react, Petunia began to hit her, hard.

"This is your fault, you freak!"

Lily sobbed harder as Sirius pulled Petunia away.

"I can make you forget," she said through her sobs. "I'll make you forget this happened… there's a spell."

"There's no spell in the world that will let me forgive you," Petunia spat. "You can take your freak spells and change my head, but I will always hate you."

"But we're sisters. We're all each other has now-"

"I have Vernon. All you have is yourself."

"But… I thought you loved me…" Her voice came out small, hesitant.

"How could I ever love a monster like you."

Petunia left.

"Wait…" Lily sobbed. "Please, come back…"

But James held her back. "She's not worth it, Lily."

Lily elbowed him, hard, and ran, but Petunia was already gone. Disappeared, as if she had used the magic she so despised.

Only magic could help Lily now.

"I need time," she realized.

The car was gone. Petunia had to have taken it. But Lily was a witch.

"Lily, wait-" James shouted.

She apparated.

In the dark, the stones loomed over her. She approached the nearest one. As she drew nearer, she could hear a strange ringing, growing louder and louder. A crack sounded from behind her, followed by another. She cursed internally; how had James and Sirius found her so quickly?

"Take me back," she sobbed. "Take me back…"

She placed a hand on a stone, and suddenly, with a lurch, she was gone. She closed her eyes against the flashes of light and movement. Finally, she felt the shaking stop.

She opened her eyes.