As seemed customary, winter break was over in the blink of an eye. Two weeks had come and gone and suddenly, there was only a day before students were expected to return to Hogwarts, boarding the express at precisely eight a.m. Marlene, who had spent much of the latter part of her break with Henry Fawley, had agreed to meet her friends at Alma's, a popular breakfast spot in Diagon Alley, for a final brunch before they were all forced to return to school.
It was a chilly morning – the frost crunching beneath her feet as she crossed the grassy garden behind her house, apparating. It was a Sunday and Diagon Alley was quiet; Marlene being one of the few people brave enough to withstand the frigid morning temperatures as she crossed the narrow cobblestone streets. Alma's sat across the corner from Gringotts, overshadowed by the bank's grand architecture. Marlene pushed open the door to the small diner, a bell ringing above it to signal her entrance. The room was filled with large, red cushioned booths, its walls covered with photographs of famous patrons – witches and wizards throughout the ages, from Hogwarts headmasters to the guitar player from The Weird Sisters.
"Morning," Lily waved at Marlene from a booth near the back. She and Alice were the first to arrive, sitting side by side with a pot of tea between them. Marlene slid onto the opposite bench.
"It is bloody freezing out there," she complained, still shivering, her nose and cheeks rosy from the cold.
"It'll be even worse in Scotland," Alice reminded her. "I can never get warm inside that castle during the colder months."
"The lower corridors get the worst draft," Lily agreed, sipping from her white tea mug. Marlene shrugged off her coat and scarf, Alice's eyebrows rising when she noticed the green turtleneck Marlene was wearing that afternoon.
"Hiding something?" she teased.
"Oh hush." In truth, Henry had come to visit her only last night and they had gotten carried away, cuddling in her bed together. Everything between them had been…perfect since Christmas. Henry was strong and reliable, he could share his emotions without choking on his words and giving up, as Marlene had grown used to boys doing.
"Where are Mary and Emmeline?" she asked, picking up one of the menus which sat in the middle of the table. "I figured I would be the last one here."
"Have you met Emmeline?" Alice quipped. "She runs on her own time." Emmeline was never on time. It was an irritable trait one was forced to endure if they wanted to be her friend. Luckily, it was not long before the bell above the door rang and in came, she and Mary, sliding into the booth beside Marlene.
"Well then," Lily began, leaning in, "did everyone have a good new year's?" It was the first time they had all been together since the party.
"I didn't spend it mopping at home," Alice said, trying to be positive despite the poor state she had been in as of late. "That's something good I suppose."
"I'm sorry about Frank and Cecily," Marlene frowned. "It was in bad taste for him to bring her along and rub it in your face like that."
"I deserve it though, don't I?"
"Just because you made one mistake doesn't mean you should be tortured for it forever," Mary stated, giving Alice's arm a reassuring squeeze. The waitress came by, taking their orders (which would appear upon the table once they were ready), prepared in the back kitchen by a host of skilled house-elves.
"Wait till you guys hear how Emmy ended her night," Mary teased, taking a sip from her water as Emmeline's cheeks turned bright pink.
"Oh my god, who did you shag?" Lily's green eyes widened. Marlene too was completely clueless as to what Emmeline had gotten up to. Last she remembered her friend had been in a dour state, sulking about the party.
"It was a one-time thing!" Emmeline insisted defensively.
"So, we know them?" Alice grinned with glee.
"Who!"
"Black," Emmeline blurted out, head facing down. Marlene's stomach sunk; hoping she hadn't heard her right.
"You did not…" Alice's jaw dropped.
"Sirius?" Lily clarified. "You shagged Sirius?"
"Like I said, one-time thing."
Marlene swallowed hard, trying not to let the rage she felt bubbling up inside of her show. How could Sirius be so reckless? He knew that Emmeline was one of her closest friends, of course, the news would travel back to her eventually. Now, Marlene was stuck sitting at the table, shocked, struggling to hide the depth of her horror from the rest of her friends.
"Wow," she commented, trying to appear as scandalized by the news as the rest of the girls were. "Did not see that one coming…"
"Neither did I," Emmeline tried to explain. "We were both drunk, and brooding. Very, very drunk."
"What was Sirius she bloody moody about anyway?" Lily asked. "He was in a state all night."
"I didn't ask questions," Emmeline shrugged, Marlene's heart racing. She knew. She was the cause of Sirius' bad mood. Luckily, the conversation did not remain focused on Sirius for very long. The bell above the door rang once more and everyone glanced up, catching sight of the couple who entered.
"You have to be kidding me…" Mary exclaimed, shoulders falling. In strode Frank and Cecily, her lips turned up with pride as if she'd know somehow that Alice would be sitting there, watching. They took a seat as far across the room as they could manage and Marlene watched as Frank glanced anxiously towards their table every few seconds, well aware of the discomfort he was causing Alice.
"Wanker," Marlene cursed bitterly. "We were here first."
"It's a free world," Alice shrugged, pale as snow.
"It's rude is what it is," Emmeline glared. Their plates appeared on the table, providing a much-needed distraction, and Marlene tried her hardest to change the subject, discussing her budding relationship with Henry, though it did little to ease the pained expression Alice now wore.
"So, Remus and Leila?" Lily said. "Guess that's a thing again?"
"Why one earth would he take her back after all the damage she's done?" Mary wondered with a mouthful of eggs.
"He loves her," came Alice's timid voice. "Love makes you do crazy things."
"It seems stupid if you ask me," Mary rolled her eyes, "trusting a girl like that…"
"Leila's sweet," Marlene interjected. "She might surprise you yet."
"Sweet is just another word for boring," Emmeline was saying, stirring brown sugar into her bowl of porridge. "We all know that—" but they never found out what it was they all knew. Emmeline never finished her sentence because without warning, a large bang erupted and suddenly the windows of Alma's, with their intricate, red font, were blown out, fire shooting through the room as Marlene was thrown from her chair by the blast, her head hitting the ground hard.
The Marauders were gathered together in the Potters' sitting room. Sirius was sprawled across the couch, flipping through the new Quidditch guide he had been given for Christmas, while James, Remus and Peter partook in a game of exploding snaps – despite the warnings they had received from Mrs Potter to cut it out. The boys sat in a circle on the carpet, the pile of cards between them.
"Any updates on that bird of yours, Wormtail?" Sirius asked from the couch he lounged across. Poor Peter, who was moments ago focused intently on the pile of cards before him, was distracted by the question, missing a pair which appeared so that the pile of cards exploded before he had the chance to tap them with his wand.
"Rooky mistake," Remus chuckled.
"My apologies," Sirius called out from the couch.
"her name is Aldora," Peter informed them. "I sent her a letter two days ago, but she hasn't written back yet…"
"She will," James promised, reaching out to give his friend a reassuring pat on the back. "Girls just like to play hard to get."
"What about you Sirius?" Peter asked. "When are you going to find yourself a nice bird?"
"I have no interest in being tied down to anyone," Sirius stated certainly. "I've seen the trouble it's caused you lot."
James' pride flared up and he felt compelled to defend his relationship with Lily which was, for the most part, a smooth and happy affair. He would have said as much were it not for the sound of the doorbell ringing, echoing through the house, drawing the attention of the room.
The boys listened as Mimsy came rushing from the back of the house, swinging open the front door.
"May I speak with Caroline and Alec please?" A deep voice requested. James craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of their guest through the sitting room doorway.
"Yes, of course," Mimsy insisted. "Please, come in." She hurried off, rushing to find James' parents.
"Who is it?" Peter whispered.
"I can't see…"
"Someone from the Auror department probably?" Remus said.
"They're both off today, why would it be work?"
James heard the distant sound of footsteps and then his father's voice. "Kingsley!" he exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"
"There's been an attack."
"Where?"
"An attempt on Gringotts. They failed to cause damage to the bank, but the surrounding area is completely destroyed."
"What's going on?" James heard his mother's voice enter the mix as her footsteps came creaking down the staircase.
Suddenly, James curiosity turned to fear, and he rose from where he'd been sitting, stepping into the doorway, confronting the adults in the foyer.
"What happened to the surrounding area?" James demanded, heart in his throat. He had to grip the doorframe to keep himself steady.
"James, this is Auror business, you can't be eavesdropping," his mother began to scold, James shaking his head.
"Lily is in Diagon Alley," he told them, feeling sick. "She was supposed to meet the girls at Alma's—"
"There is a team of professionals on the scene right now," Kingsley informed James in his formal tone. "The best thing you can do right now is to wait for news."
"Let's go," Alec said, turning to face Caroline. She was staring at James, her face filled with concern. She stepped forward, stroking back her son's hair.
"We will take care of this James," she reassured him. "Your father and I will do our best to make sure the girls are safe."
"I can't just sit here—"
"You have to," his father insisted from over his mother's shoulder, tone final. "The best thing you can do for everyone right now is to sit here and wait for us to send news. Let the professionals do their job, James."
"Promise me," his mother said, gripping him by the shoulders. "Promise you will stay here and do as you're told. Please. We cannot be worried about you boys while we're out there today, not if we are going to save those girls." James felt sick to his stomach at the thought of being trapped here, useless, while his girlfriend and friends were in harm's way. If he were the one in danger, wouldn't Lily rush to rescue him?
"Fine," he agreed, resenting his parents for forcing him to make such a promise in the first place. He pulled away from his mother's touch, her face crumpling with pain.
"I love you, James," she said, as he turned his back upon them saying no more. He did not say goodbye as they gathered their things and left out the front door with Kingsley, his rage too great. He wanted to be with Lily now, needed to be with her. He would go mad, trapped inside his house.
Alice was in her living room, listening to the static from the radio. No, that isn't right, she thought, slowly ebbing back into consciousness. Her ears rang so loudly she could hear nothing else, her face pressed into the wood floor. It took a while before she was strong enough to peel herself up, eyes flickering open. The restaurant, previously filled with light from its large, street-facing windows, was now a fog of smoke and debris. Alice crawled along the soot-covered floor, bits of debris and broken glass coating it.
She reached her hand out ahead of her, feeling something solid and gasped, stomach-turning. She sat back, staring at the motionless body of the waitress, her blue eyes open, staring up blankly towards the ceiling. Slowly, the ringing in Alice's ears began to fade and she could hear the screams and the groans of the patrons around her, some of whom were her friends.
Alice ran her hands along her face, looking down to find them covered in dirt and blood. Despite her terror, she kept crawling, searching for an exit, or at the very least another conscious person. She followed the sound of voices, drawing towards the edge of the restaurant, where the windows had been. Outside she could see a fire raging in the street as wizards in purple ministry robes tried to tame it.
Crawling, Alice began to move towards the blown-out windows – her nearest exit – and made to climb over the ledge of broken glass when someone grabbed her by the ankle. She screamed, rushing to fight her attacker off, but when she looked down the person lying on the floor, reaching out for her, was no stranger but in fact, Frank.
"Frank!" Alice choked on his name, coughing up dust as she tried to speak.
"What happened?" he groaned from the floor. He was lying in shattered glass; part of a table having fallen on his chest. Alice looked around but Cecily was nowhere to be seen.
"There was some sort of explosion…" Alice knew as much as he did. Part of her feared that in the smoke and debris of the restaurant there might be Death Eaters lurking, waiting to do them harm.
"We have to get you out of here."
"It'll be too hard," Frank protested, "you should get yourself out—"
"I won't leave you here." She couldn't, not even if he'd tried to force her. If Frank died here on the floor of this restaurant, Alice was determined to lay down beside him and give up as well.
She still had her wand, intact, in the pocket of her robes, and used it to lift the half of the table off of Frank's chest, his face scrunching up with pain as the pressure was released. Alice could only imagine the damage done beneath. She wanted to get him to help as quickly as possible, in case his condition grew worse.
"Can you walk?"
Alice got down onto the ground with him, wrapping Frank's arm around her thin frame as she used every ounce of strength she possessed to try and hoist him off the floor, the two of them falling back down together, Frank wincing with pain.
"Go," Frank continued to tell her, "if you leave me you can get help—"
"You wouldn't leave," she reminded him, "if it was it the other way around." She had failed Frank enough already, Alice was not prepared to leave him now when he needed her most. Despite the trembling of her limbs, she once more tried to drag Frank onto his feet, this time managing to get him upright, leaning into her.
"I've got you," she promised him, holding on tightly to Frank as they moved slowly towards safety.
Delirious and injured, Lily Evans clambered to her feet soon after the explosion and wandered out of Alma's through the kitchen, landing in the back alley behind the restaurant. There, she dropped onto the ground, leaning back against the brick wall of a building, her knees pulled into her chest as she rocked back and forth, the wound she'd received on her arm aching as blood leaked from it, staining the sleeve of her shirt. What the hell just happened?
Lily was not sure how long she had been sitting there, mindlessly, before she came back to reality. Slowly, her ears registered the sound of screams and shouting that came from the street. Only then did she notice the tears running down her cheeks, her hands covered in soot. Her friends. She had left them inside. Lily rose, rather unsteadily, to her feet, taking a deep breath before preparing to reenter the building from where she'd exited, in order to get the rest of her friends out.
"You!" A voice called out, stopping Lily in her tracks. She looked to her right, a cloaked and hooded figure striding purposefully down the tight alley towards her, Lily's heart in her throat. She scrambled, reaching for her wand in the back pocket of her jeans.
"Lily Evans," came a woman's voice. She paused a few steps away from Lily, only her red lips and long nose visible beneath her hood. "He has been watching you."
"He?" Lily shook her head, clueless.
"You can be part of the future," the woman continued, "part of a new generation of wizards." It took a moment before Lily realized exactly what was being suggested.
"You want me to join Voldemort?" she was shocked. "I'm a muggle-born—"
"You are a witch now," the woman reminded her sharply. "The Dark Lord sees your potential. He knows that you could be a powerful asset to our cause." The woman stepped forward and Lily moved instinctively back.
"Be on the right side of history, Lily Evans."
"The side which would happily see muggle-borns like myself eradicated?" Lily grimaced. "It would go against everything I am, everything I believe in, to join your army."
"It is a simple choice," the woman's tone grew sharper. "Either you die, or you fight with us, for the future of the Wizarding world."
"That's not how I see it," Lily challenged, "I think there's a third option."
"Do not be a fool."
"You can tell Voldemort that I will not join him," Lily announced boldly. "Not now, not ever."
"You will regret this." Lily saw the woman move for something in the sleeve of her cloak and withdrew her wand immediately, ready for a fight, her head still spinning. Before she knew what was happening the woman disappeared, apparating from the alley. Lily stood still, stunned by her encounter, drawn back into reality by the sound of screams from the street. Instinctively, she rushed towards the commotion.
The shops surrounding Alma's were blown out, one building completely up in flames, and an explosion had destroyed a large portion of the street, a gaping, fire burning hole in the middle of the road, officials doing their best to put out the flames. Lily's eyes darted wildly about the street for a familiar face, any one of the four friends she had been in the restaurant with, but she saw only robed Ministry officials and curious passersby watching the scene unfold.
"Lily!" Someone called out and she spun around to find Caroline Potter running down the road towards her, her husband and Kingsley Shacklebolt following behind. She came to Lily immediately, wrapping her up in her arms as though she were her own child. "Thank Merlin you're okay."
"There are others still in there!" Lily insisted, panicking. "Marlene, Mary, Emmeline, Alice…I…I just left them…" suddenly she was sobbing, fat, salty tears rolling down her cheeks as she burrowed her head into Mrs Potter's chest. She had not realized how badly she needed comfort until that moment, wrapped up in Caroline's arms, safe for the first time all morning.
"Don't worry," she assured her in a motherly tone as she stroked Lily's tangled red hair. "Everything is going to be just fine." Lily did not think things would ever be "fine" again.
The Potters had left explicit instructions not to leave the house but none of the Marauders had ever been very good at following the rules – except Remus perhaps, though he too agreed with the urgency of the situation.
"We can't just sit here," James argued once the adults were gone. "Not when we know that the girls are out there—"
"There is nothing we can do for them," Remus tried to reason with him. "The Aurors are their best bet—"
"We can at least be there for them," Sirius interjected, taking James' side. No one questioned him – Sirius and James were usually on the same team – but the truth was, Sirius would have wanted to go to the scene whether or not James agreed. He knew that Marlene was there and if anyone was likely to get hurt trying to play the hero it was her. And the last thing we ever did was fight…
"It will mean something," James added, "to see familiar faces. Think about Alice."
"I mean…as long as we stay away from the action…" Peter anxiously agreed.
Once they had all agreed to a plan there was no turning back. They put on their coats and apparated as a group from the Potters' back garden. They landed down the street from the scene. The road on which they appeared was unaffected, but they could hear the commotion coming from around the corner and Sirius could smell the smoke in the air. The roof of the restaurant the girls had been inside of was caved in, the windows were blown out and Ministry officials were struggling to put out a fire which blazed before the building.
Look!" James exclaimed, pointing ahead, "Lily!" he went off running, Remus and Peter immediately chasing after him, but Sirius lagged behind. He did see Lily, surrounded by a group of Aurors, Alice and Frank there as well, but Marlene was nowhere to be seen. Unlike his friends, Sirius turned back, racing to find an entrance to the alley behind the buildings. He needed to get inside, to find her. He would not let their last conversation be a heated argument. Not when he had acted like such a coward.
The back door of Alma's was wide open, an open invitation almost, and Sirius checked his surroundings (making sure he was alone) before rushing inside. There was rubble all over the place, the floor covered in soot and debris from the roof. He had to get through the kitchen first, and out the swinging door which led into the dining area. Only then did he see the bodies. Some lay lifeless on the floor and he could not be certain whether they were living or dead.
There was a man, his hair white from ash, shaking his motionless girlfriend, tears streaking his dirtied cheeks. Sirius turned towards him, meaning to help when someone said his name. There she was, crouched in the corner across the room, leaned over Emmeline's body.
"Help me!" Marlene begged, Sirius running to her side.
He kneeled down beside her, reaching instinctively for Marlene's face, studying her for injuries. There was a gash, crusty with blood, above one of her eyebrows, and her hair was filled with dust. She drew away immediately from his touch.
"We need to get them out," she explained, focusing only on the girls lying before them. Emmeline and Mary were both trapped beneath a fallen roof beam, neither conscious. Sirius could not even be certain they were breathing.
"I'm not strong enough," Marlene explained, "not even with magic."
"We'll do it together." Sirius drew his wand from the pocket of his jacket, he and Marlene aiming together to lift the beam off of their friends, tossing it across the room where there were no victims. Immediately Marlene and Sirius lunged forward, checking to make sure the girls were both still breathing – though neither was particularly strong.
Sirius picked Emmeline up, throwing her over his shoulder. Already he was hunkered down by the weight of one, limp body.
"Can you get Mary's legs?" Sirius asked, Marlene, struggling to lift her friend. Each time she tried she would cry out in pain, reaching for her left arm.
"I think it's broken," she told him, tears clouding her blue eyes. The Aurors were still blocked from entering the building due to the pit of fire blazing outside of the restaurant. Sirius knew it would be a while before anyone got inside to help them. He put Emmeline back down onto the floor and despite Marlene's resistance towards him, reached for her arm.
"It's dislocated," he said once she let him get a proper look at the injury. "I can pop it back into place…" she barely looked at him, head turned away. She knows, Sirius realized, stomach sinking, Emmeline had told her the truth about new year's.
"Fine," she grudgingly agreed, eyes clenched shut as Sirius popped her shoulder back into place, Marlene shouting out in pain.
"I'm sorry…"
"Shut up." She took a breath, rising to her feet.
"We were all drunk—"
"Just help me!" she barked, wincing as she grabbed onto Mary's legs, preparing to help carry her from the building. Once more, Sirius threw Emmeline over his shoulder, using the last of his strength to take Mary by the arms, helping Marlene as they slowly stumbled from the deteriorating building, burning debris flying from the roof as they crossed carefully across the remnants of the blown-out window, glass covering the ground.
Sirius knew he had cut his arm as they climbed out but he ignored the pain, and the ache of his muscles, until they were on the street, away from the explosion, Aurors rushing towards them for support. Sirius and Marlene collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
"We need a Healer!" The male Auror who first reached them shouted over his shoulder. Sirius quickly scrambled to his feet, wiping the sweat from his brow. He extended his hand to Marlene, who glared up towards him, ignored the gesture and instead unsteadily raised herself to her feet.
"Sirius!" a shrill voice exclaimed from a distance. He looked behind him and there were Caroline and Alec, running in his direction, Lily and the rest of the Marauders close behind. "What the hell were you thinking!"
Caroline took hold of him, examining him for injuries like a worried mother. Her eyes widened when she noticed the blood seeping through the tear in his jacket.
"You're hurt!"
"I'm okay," he promised her, feeling slightly woozy at the sight of so much blood. He could tell from the look in Caroline's eyes that she was furious with him for his behaviour. Still, she threw her arms around him and sighed with relief.
"Thank Merlin you're safe." She turned to Marlene then, surrounded by her friends, and rushed to her side to make sure she was okay. Sirius caught sight of Maureen McKinnon walking towards Marlene, face flush with relief.
"Sirius." He looked back at Alec, still standing beside him, face stern. "What you did was reckless, it could have cost your life."
"I know." He'd expected to be in trouble, but truthfully, consequences had never much bothered him.
"It was also incredibly brave," Alec added, catching Sirius by surprise. "You have a good heart but terrible impulses." Sirius cracked a smile, gazing up at the only father he had ever known.
"I'm glad you're safe," Alec said then, wrapping an arm around Sirius's shoulder as he began to guide him away from the scene. "Let's go get that wound of yours cleaned up."
Sirius followed, though his gaze lingered a moment on Marlene, still surrounded by friends and family on the street, lost to him. He hadn't had a chance to tell her how sorry he was, how foolish he'd acted on New Year's due to alcohol. Merlin, he'd really fucked things up again, hadn't he?
"Who's coming to pick you up, love?" Alice's Healer asked mindlessly as she bound up her strained wrist. She was being sent home with orders to rest her left arm and ingest a rather disgusting orange potion before bed and first thing in the morning in order to heal up quickly.
"No one," Alice admitted. She doubted anyone had gotten ahold of her father and even if they had, he wouldn't really care, would he? He would be too intoxicated to notice she was even gone.
Her Healer, whose name tag read "Analise," frowned with concern, stopping for a moment. "There's no one coming for you? No family you can call?"
"It's fine," Alice assured her, hopping off the table as she finished up the wrapping. "I can get myself home."
Still, Analise watched the witch out the door anxiously, arms crossed, well aware of how terribly lonely a young teenager like Alice must feel living in a world where no one worried about her. Alice wandered down the hall towards the elevators, moving slowly as her left arm ached. She paused, stopping before an open door, the patient lying in the bed a familiar one.
Alice walked gingerly towards the door of Frank's room. His bed was in a row with four others, their curtains all drawn around the beds while Frank's were open. He didn't notice her at first, lying back in his bed, eyes closed, but he looked up when she cleared her throat, smiling nervously at him from across the room.
"How are you?"
"Alive." Frank shrugged. "They want to keep me overnight, to make sure everything heals upright."
"I'm glad." Alice turned to leave, assuming Frank would want to be far from her in his current state, but he stopped her.
"They said I would have died if I'd been trapped under that table for much longer." The mere suggestion made her heart stop. What would have happened if she hadn't been able to get to him in time? The thought was unbearable.
"You would have done the same," she said, holding back her tears, "were roles reversed." She looked back at Frank, wanting so badly to rush to his side and shower him in kisses, to hold him in her arm until he fell asleep. Of course, Alice had no right to do any of that anymore. Instead, she simply turned to face him, forcing a smile. "I am really happy to see you okay."
"I'm really happy to see you," Frank replied, the closest they had come to "flirting" in months. The moment of joy was quickly interrupted, and Alice jumped back with surprise when Augusta Longbottom came waltzing into the room, her long, fur coat flying behind her.
"Are you okay?" she panicked, hurrying to Frank's bedside. "What are your injuries?"
"I'm fine mum," Frank insisted, "really."
Alice tried once more to make a break for it, leaving Frank and his mother alone, but Augusta Longbottom had eyes like a hawk.
"I'm certainly surprised to see you here, Alice," she said, making the young witch tremble with fear. She was terrified of Augusta's wrath.
"I, um, I just wanted to make sure Frank was okay—"
"I was shocked you know," Augusta carried on, as though Alice had never spoken. "When Frank came home from school and announced that you two were on a break." Alice's mouth nearly fell open, her eyes shifting towards Frank who was cleverly turned away from the scene.
"Well…" Alice had no clue what to say. Why hadn't he told his mother the truth? She was the reason they had broken up. She'd destroyed their relationship and any hope the two had for a future together. She deserved to be hated by Augusta Longbottom for hurting her son.
"We just need time mum," Frank insisted, jumping in. "We want to make sure we're ready before we commit ourselves to a lifetime."
Alice could not help but stare at him in awe. She did not deserve his kindness, she never had. It was difficult not to burst into tears before Augusta. It was like a glimmer of hope, a sign that somewhere, deep inside, Frank was not finished quite yet. She might still be able to prove herself worthy.
"I love your son," Alice said, telling the truth. "More than anyone. I want him to be happy." Augusta simply frowned, arms crossed, perched on the edge of Frank's bed.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts," Alice said to Frank, smiling weakly before hurrying from the room, tears brimming in her brown eyes.
James did not want to let Lily out of his sight once he had her, safe and sound, again. He had come with her to St. Mungo's from Diagon Alley and even once the Healer had declared her safe to go, James had insisted upon escorting her home himself.
"It's for my own sanity," he insisted, the pair apparating to Lily's around the corner from the hospital. They landed in the park at the end of her street, a half-moon hanging in the clear sky above them, surrounded by a host of twinkling constellations. James took his girlfriend's hand as they walked down the street towards her house.
"Are you sure your parents aren't going to ground you for life?" Lily asked – more concerned for James than herself.
"It doesn't matter," he shrugged, meaning it. "It wasn't their decision to make."
"They might disagree, considering you live under their roof and all." They paused before the gate of her childhood home, dull, yellow light coming from the first-floor windows.
"What would you have done?" James asked, facing Lily, their hands interlocked between them, "had it been me in that building?" She rolled her eyes, turning her head away to avoid answering the question.
"I don't know," she lied, "I suppose I'd have to be in the situation—" but the smirk tugging on the ends of Lily's lips said something quite different.
"I love you," James told her.
"I love you too," she replied, leaning into him. She looked up into his face, batting her long, fair eyelashes. "I would," Lily added. "I would do the same if the roles were reversed." James leaned in then and kissed her good, knowing they wouldn't see each other until the train ride the following morning.
"Don't get into any trouble while we're apart," Lily warned him, walking backwards towards her house so that their eyes remained locked.
"Never," James grinned.
He watched until she disappeared into her front door, certain she was safe, and then found a dark corner of the street to apparate home from.
James found his parents and Sirius waiting in the dining room, deafening silence between them. He could tell simply from the guilty look upon his friend's face just how bad of a tongue lashing they were in for.
"What you two did today was incredibly irresponsible," his mother began, hands clasped tightly atop the table. She would not even meet James' glance as he settled into the seat across from her.
"Not to mention inconsiderate. Did you even think about the people whose lives were put in danger because of your presence? It added an extra four bodies to the scene, not to mention one of you entered the scene," his father berated them. Sirius cleared his throat.
"That was my fault," he interjected. "I'm the one who split away from the group, James had no idea—"
"Really, Sirius?" James' mother scoffed in disbelief from across the table. "You expect us to believe that our son was willing to sit idly by?"
"And why should I?" James demanded. "There's a war coming, we can all see it, and I want to fight—"
"You will," his father stated firmly, "once you graduate—"
"That's only six months away!"
"And for six months you must listen to what your father and I tell you," his mother snapped. James could not remember the last time he had been scolded by her. Usually, the pair of them got along quite well. His mother didn't usually feel like a parent but more like a friend, someone whom he confided secrets in and drank wine with. James was unfamiliar with the fury he was seeing now, which had never before been directed at him before.
"Does it mean nothing? The life we have provided you with?" she looked at him, eyes narrowed with rage. "Are you so ungrateful you cannot show us the simple respect of listening?"
"Caroline…" his father began, tone warning.
"We have always been lenient!" she shook her head. "Always supportive and we ask one favour, one simple request—"
"I couldn't just sit there, mum!" James attempted to defend himself. "Not when Lily was in danger."
"Did you really think that your father and I would allow anything to happen to her? To any of those girls?" The room fell silent once more, neither James nor Sirius capable of saying anything in their defence.
"I'm sorry," Sirius eventually spoke up, "I didn't mean to disappoint you, not after the kindness the two of you have shown me."
"Thank you, Sirius," James' father nodded appreciatively, hazel eyes shifting to his son. James sank down into his chair, overcome with shame and pride at once. He looked across the table at his mother, taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he forced himself to say, "I am." But the look on her face was enough to know that she didn't believe him.
