Chapter 3: Threats and Traps

"Morning Remus," Lily greeted cheerfully, plopping her school books down on the bench beside him. James froze mid-sip of his orange juice, causing it to dribble down his chin. Sirius paused mid-bite, bits of egg actually falling back onto his plate. Peter continued to eat away, too focused on his grapes to pay any attention to those around him.

"What is she doing here, mate?" Sirius whispered out of the side of his mouth.

"Dunno…" James whispered back. "Her side of the table is down that way."

"It's never good news when Evans is this cheerful in the morning. Usually means she has something up her sleeve."

Remus looked up from buttering his toast. "Yes, Lily?"

Lily took a deep breath. "Well, I've been thinking…"
"Uh-oh." Both Sirius and James said simultaneously.

"You see," continued Lily, "I have been working on these Patrol Charts and can't seem to find the right charm to make them work. James mentioned that you were very good at tracking charms and was wondering if you could help me out with this."

"James?" Remus said, his voice coming out as a warning.

Sirius turned dramatically towards James.

Lily quickly stumbled out an apology thinking that Remus was just being humble, while Sirius hissed at James, "You fool! Did you tell her about the map?"

"No!" James hissed back, "Of course not! She was looking for a charm to make the names rotate! I only mentioned Remus would know how to do it! I solemnly swear!"

The relieved look on Sirius' face was all Remus needed to turn his attention fully on Lily. "Well, if you let me take a look at what you've got, maybe I can help."

Lily smiled gratefully and pulled the Patrol Charts out of her bag. James and Sirius nosily leaned forward to get a look at the Charts Remus and Lily poured over. Remus must have been enjoying himself for he occasionally hummed in agreement and tapped his quill excitedly when Lily made a suggestion.

"Bloody hell!" Peter suddenly shouted, looking sourly down at his plate. The whole of Gryffindor table paused to stare. "Has anyone else been finding seeds in their grapes?" Peter threw one such seed down onto his plate hard enough to ricochet right through Nearly Headless Nick.

"Well they're obviously too big to be seedless grapes, Pete." James said.

Peter humpfed. "What happened to our seedless grapes? I want them back! I think I'm going to go down to the kitchens and give those house elves a piece of my mind."

"You go do that." Sirius said, shaking his head and returning to his eggs.

Later that night James sat back in his arm chair in the Head dorms, arms stretched out behind his head as he scrutinized the Prefects all listening to Lily talk. He had to hand it to her, Lily really did know how to manage Head duties. While preparing for the meeting, Lily and James decided that the best way to keep an eye on any threatening activities was to enlist the help of the other Prefects. Lily agreed to run through the logistics of the meeting if James would ask for the Prefects' help. While Lily argued that the Prefects should all be trusted with Dumbledore's secret mission, James was quick to disagree. He eyed the table of Prefects warily, judging which ones he could actually trust.

"A new pair will patrol every week-" Lily said while James sat judging. She was nervously playing with the top two buttons on her Hogwarts shirt. "-remember, no one patrols alone-" Lily popped open the first button. James' eyes immediately latched onto Lily's fingers, the judging forgotten. "-professors will finish their patrols through this week-" There went the second button! "-as you can see, Emmeline and I will take over on Monday." Wait a second, what was Amos Diggory looking at? So what if Lily likes to unbutton her shirt when she's nervous? Just because James likes to notice it doesn't mean anyone else has the right to notice it! And now Amos was smirking! Just what was he trying to get at?

"Potter? Potter!" Lily's voice interrupted his thoughts. James sat up straighter and tried to appear as if he had been listening. Lily arched her eyebrow, prompting him to continue. Continue with what? His eyes scanned the other Prefects who were now all staring at him instead of her. Save for Mulciber, he was rolling his eyes and picking at his nails...that slimy Slytherin git. How much money did his father have to pay to get his son the position of Prefect? Mulciber was never up to anything good. Ah. Now he remembered.

"Right. Let's talk about misconduct." James started, letting his eyes linger on Mulciber, and then Diggory for good measure. Diggory was still eyeing up Lily's chest. "It has only been a few weeks into term and there are already a high number of students who have been sent to the Hospital wing due to magical confrontations. I'll be honest, I am all for pranking-" Lily shot James a murderous glare as the Prefects around him laughed, "-but most of these students have been targeted for being muggleborn."

"Well that decides it then," sneered Mulciber, "We should kick out all the muggleborns."

"That's exactly the attitude we want to prevent." Lily said, "We need your help to identify the attackers and step in whenever a student is being bullied."

"Well of course you would say that," Mulciber glared at Lily, "Trying to protect your own, you are!"

"Sounds to me you're jealous," Remus said smoothly from across the room despite the tension rising in the room. "Can't stand that someone of 'inferior blood' can best you in school, eh?"

"Doesn't matter what they do," Mulciber said and angrily stood up from his chair. "They will only be as good as the scum under my shoes, those filthy mudbloods."

James went to reach for his wand and hex the git when Lily's hand shot out to keep James' in place. "Get out." She seethed, her voice quiet and steady. "You're done here. We will not tolerate that kind of attitude. Turn in your Prefect badge and get out of my sight."

Mulciber hesitated, eyeing the other Prefects for any sign of support. No one met Mulciber's eye, not even Regine, the other Slytherin Prefect. Mulciber tore the badge from his robes and tossed it down at Lily's feet. "Fine then, I'd be happy to," he said while clenching his fist, "Better than spending another minute with the muggle loving slime you lot are."

The room was silent as Mulciber stomped his way to the portrait hole and shoved it open. "Oh well isn't this awkward," drawled a new voice from outside the portrait hole. Sirius Black stood with his fingers outstretched in a wiggling motion. Mulciber shouldered Sirius out of his way. "Testy, isn't he? Anyways, Peter and I were just on our way up to your room, James." And acting like nothing was out of the ordinary, Sirius waved Peter inside and the two hummed merrily as they strolled right up to James' private bedroom and shut the door behind them.

James blinked. "Well, I guess on that note our meeting is adjourned."

The other Prefects shuffled their things together and filed out the door. James could overhear them whisper things like, "she better watch out, Mulciber's not going to let that go" and "can she even do that?" The last to leave was Regine, who walked over to where Lily was sitting and gracefully sat down next to her. Regine pushed her wavy blonde hair behind her ears with her perfectly manicured nails and said confidentially, "It was Mulciber who put most of those students in the Hospital wing. Maybe not directly, but him and his posse treat it as an initiation for new members. I will not go out of my way to prevent it from happening again, but I will give you a heads up if Mulciber is idiot enough to speak of his plans out in the open."

Lily smiled gratefully at Regine. "I understand and appreciate your help."

Regine stood at that moment and waltzed out the portrait hole, not sparing anyone else in the room a second glance. James whistled as the door shut. "Regine Spencer agreeing to help the cause? Who would have thought?"

Lily tilted her head up at James. "How could you not have thought? Slytherins are known for seeking out power. Many of them are searching out Voldemort because that's where they believe the most power is to be found, but not everyone in Slytherin agrees. For Regine, she sees us in the position of power, and she will help us as a means to advance herself. She's only a 5th year, I can see her eventually trying for Head Girl."

"Leave it to Lovely Lily to always find the best in people." Remus said, stretching from his arm chair. "If you'll excuse me, I better see what Peter and Sirius are up to."

"Thanks for your help with that charm, Remus." Lily said.

"And thank you for the suggestion. Quite clever," Remus mused as he made his way to James' bedroom. Loud banging noises erupted as Remus opened the door. To his credit, Remus seemed completely unphased.

"Sounds like a party up there," Lily said to James who did not make a move to leave.

James sighed contentedly. "Yes it does."

"I would go up in fear they might set fire to the room." Lily's thumb jerked in the direction of his bedroom.

James wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to go upstairs. Maybe it was because he was comfortable in this armchair by the fire. Maybe it was because he thoroughly enjoyed the spark in Lily's emerald eyes when she told Mulciber to leave and hoped to catch it again. Or maybe it was just because he enjoyed the way his stomach flipped whenever him and Lily were in the same room together. But with a resigned sigh he said, "You're right," and he pushed himself up and out of his armchair to climb the stairs. He paused on the bottom step to look back at Lily. "And Evans, nice job tonight. You're a better wizard than me for not raising your wand at Mulciber."

Lily shrugged as if saying it was nothing. "Do me a favor Potter and try not to wake me with all the explosions in your room."

James saluted her as he opened his door and a shower of rainbow colored sparks darted into the hall. Lily giggled. Things were going to be alright.

The rest of the week's lessons went by smoothly and Lily was looking forward to a free weekend of laying out by the lake. After a grueling Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson about vampires and their flesh-eating bats, Lily was ready for a break.

"Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, if you could please wait a moment. I need a word." Professor Doge said over the sound of students gathering their things. Lily and James hung back from the throng of students that moved on to their next class.

"Yes Professor?" James asked. He was slightly anxious to get moving since his Quidditch practice would be starting in an hour and he wanted to get to the pitch and set up.

Professor Doge seemed to sense his unease. "I'll only take a moment. Professor Dumbledore has asked me to set aside time to tutor you two in the art of dueling." James looked excited while Lily frowned. "Unfortunately due to my schedule, I will not be able to tutor you myself for another couple of weeks. In the meantime, I have asked Mr. Benjy Fenwick to fill in. Your first session will begin tonight at 9 o'clock here in my office."

"But Professor, what about rounds!" Lily said.

"Mr. Filch has graciously accepted to take over your rounds so you may attend." Professor Doge said. James rolled his eyes in disbelief. "We cannot risk any other students coming across our tutoring sessions, so please do not advertise that Mr. Filch is taking over your roles."

"Understood, Professor." James nodded his head.

"Very well then. You are dismissed." Professor Doge nodded his head with a kind smile and waved the two Head students out of his classroom. Lily split off towards the library while James headed towards the front entrance and the Quidditch Pitch.

"See you tonight!" James called after Lily. Lily hastily waved her hand in reply, not looking back.

At ten of 9, up in the Head Dorms, Lily could spot from her window seat the tiny figures of the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team heading back towards the castle. James would be heading straight towards Doge's office for their dueling lesson then. With a heavy sigh Lily pushed away from the pillows and exited the portrait hole. Her head was filled with disastrous dueling scenarios like sprouting boils, catching fire, or worse, belching slugs. From what she gathered, dueling was not a subject you could learn from textbooks. Rather it took intuitive skill that Lily was not sure she had.

"Lily," Regine, the Slytherin Prefect, approached Lily from down the corridor. If Regine hadn't been standing in the middle of the hall, Lily would have walked right past her she was so lost in her thoughts.

"Oh, Regine, it's not your night to patrol." Lily said.

"I know, that's not why I'm here." Regine said, tossing her hair haughtily behind her shoulder.

"It's not? Then what is it you're here for? But tell me quick because I've er- got to be somewhere." Lily rubbed the back of her arm nervously.

Regine raised an eyebrow. "I'm here only to deliver a warning. Mulciber is up to something. I don't know when, I don't know where, but I do know it has to do with you. Just watch your back."

"Er- right. Thanks. Well, see you, then." Lily waved as she hurried away from Regine and towards Professor Doge's office.

Not having met Mr. Benjy Fenwick, save for perhaps a passing glance at the initial Order meeting, Lily was expecting an older wizard around the same age as Professor Doge. Lily was therefore surprised to see a fit young man with sandy blonde hair lounging precariously backwards in Professor Doge's desk chair with his feet crossed on the table. "Er-hello?" Lily knocked uncertainly at the already open door.

The man's eyes widened and his chair tipped so far back that Lily was sure he was going to topple over, but to her great surprise he pivoted forwards instead and leapt onto his feet. "Ah, hello! You must be Lily." He bounded merrily towards her and grabbed her hand in an enthusiastic handshake. "Heard wonderful things about you - brilliant witch and all that - really looking forward to some dueling, eh?"

Lily was saved from giving an answer, she really wasn't sure she would have been able to anyways, when James came into the room and clapped Benjy Fenwick on the back. "Benjy! Great to see you!"

Benjy beamed at James and draped an arm over his and Lily's shoulders, ushering them into the room. He turned his head towards James. "Still playing quidditch, eh? Your father's talked all about it of course - says you're better on the broom than Ludo Bagman - I hope you're keeping the team in shape?" All James could do was nod. "Alright then, let's get started. Pull out your wands."

And just like that, Benjy started firing jinxes left and right. Lily could do nothing more than duck out of the way at first and even went as far as to hide behind James at one point before her brain started working. A laundry list of charms and jinxes made their way into her mind and she routinely worked through them. Benjy, though quick, had a sort of rhythm to his wand work and methodically alternated between Lily and James. Soon Lily found herself meeting that rhythm. While James was agile, Lily was creative. Benjy had to pause more than once to retrieve his wand by a wicked disarming spell James seemed to have mastered. But Benjy had to pause just as many times for Lily's enhanced pepper-up charm that caused Benjy to double over in giggles, or a levitation charm that dropped him upside down. In turn, Lily learned a few spells from James and a handful of shields from Benjy. After about an hour, Benjy waved his hand in a ceasefire and leaned over a desk to catch his breath. "Well that was exciting, was it not? Let's try this again next week, eh? Same time, same place." And with a final wave goodbye, Lily returned to her room and collapsed onto her bed in exhaustion.

That Saturday morning was a beautiful day. Lily stretched out on the grass by the lake, pointing her toes out to just tap the surface of the water to send ripples stretching across its glassy surface. Most of the students were out on the grounds, not daring to miss any of the bright sunshine and warm weather. In fact, she was waiting for her friends for a much over do volleyball match. But she welcomed these rare moments of peace where she could sit in silence and focus on herself.

Lily flipped onto her stomach to scope out the grounds around her. Her usual tree had already been snatched by a few Ravenclaw fourth years. Her eyes roamed past the studying students until they rested on a group of scheming seventh years that belonged to her house. She looked at the Marauders curiously as they were hunched over a curious piece of parchment and snickering obnoxiously.

A flutter of wings interrupted her thoughts. Lily was surprised to find a school owl land next to her, extending its leg with a tiny note. Lily carefully untied the note as the little owl nibbled away in the grass.

Lily,

The Order requests your assistance in locating active Death Eaters. This will be your first mission that will require you to leave Hogwarts Grounds. The choice is yours to accept or decline. If you agree to help, you will be transported to a known meeting location to search for evidence only. I understand from Mr. Fenwick that your dueling lessons are going well. Please continue to meet him this Tuesday and Thursday as a safety measure. Please respond with your answer.

Happy Saturday,

Professor Dumbledore

Lily's stomach dropped. With a quick glance in James' direction, Lily noticed he had a note of his own. Very nonchalantly James scribbled an answer and sent it away with his owl. Wondering what James' letter had said, she conjured a quill and scribbled on the back of the note. "Yes." She tied the note to the owl's leg and watched it take off. Lily wasn't the only one watching. So was James. Their eyes met and locked onto one another.

"Oi! Lily! There you are!" Lily jerked her head up at the sound of her friend's voice in time to catch a quaffle that was headed towards her head. "Transfigure that to a volleyball, will you? I'll set up the net." Marlene summoned a net with her wand and drove it into the ground with the help of Mary and Dorcas. With a simple swish and flick of her wand, the quaffle was transfigured into a volleyball. Lily got back onto her feet and approached her friends who were by now setting the boundaries for their court.

"Lily! It's me, Emmeline! Can you hear me?" Monday evening meant the start of rounds, and her partner for the evening was Emmeline Vance, a 5th year Ravenclaw Prefect. Emmeline's voice rang loud and clear throughout the Head Dorms. Lily put down her quill and looked up at the portrait hole to find Emmeline's face reflected in the portrait hole as if in a mirror. Surprised that the mirror in the portrait acted like a sort of telephone, it took a moment for Lily to realize she should answer Emmeline's reflection.

"Er-yes? Just a moment." Lily quickly stuffed her parchment in her bag.

"Ready?" Emmeline asked as Lily clambered outside and lead the way down the corridor. "I've never done rounds before."

Lily smiled kindly at the nervous Ravenclaw Prefect. "It can be a bit boring, actually. We normally see nothing more than the occasional broom closet snogging. They're usually so horrified at being caught that you need to shout after them to remind them of the lost House points. Unless, of course, it's Sirius Black. Pray you never come across him, he'll stick around just to boast." Emmeline giggled good-naturedly. "C'mon, this way then. We'll start at the top and work our way down."

The hour was passing quickly and Lily found that she really enjoyed talking with Emmeline, who was really quite clever. And also a bit mischievous. "So when Terry was looking the other way, I just slipped in an extra scoop of crushed spine of lionfish, which makes it less of a calming potion-"

"-and more of a sleeping draught!" Lily cut in, totally engrossed in Emmeline's story.

"Yes, exactly! Terry collapsed snoring as soon as she took a sip! Professor Slughorn had to conjure a stretcher and levitate her down to the Hospital Wing himself!" Emmeline laughed.

A sudden knock echoing off the dungeon walls cut the laughter short and had the girls stopping in their tracks. "Wands out." Lily instructed coolly. Emmeline fumbled in her pocket and pulled out her wand. "Who's there!" Lily called out authoritatively. "Show yourself."

Red light spat from the shadows at the end of the corridor, blasting Emmeline off her feet and slamming her into the wall. Lily rushed to her side once Emmeline crumpled to the ground. "Brave of you to hide in the shadows." Lily said sarcastically to the invisible attacker. Even though Lily was enraged, she wasn't fool enough to turn her back on whoever had stunned Emmeline.

"If it makes you feel any better, I was aiming for you." Sneered a voice Lily recognized as Mulciber. He stepped forward then, his bulky frame stomping out of the shadows.

"Lucky for me there's so much of you to aim at." Lily muttered under her breath. "Put your wand away, Mulciber, and return to your dorm. Being a Prefect once, I would expect you to know the rules."

"Do you realize the shame you've caused me and my family by taking away my Prefect badge?" Mulciber's face was scrunched into an ugly sneer. "Being dismissed as a Prefect by a filthy mudblood! No I will not put my wand away. I will make you pay!" Mulciber charged forward, spitting another stunning spell at Lily.

Lily ducked out of its way and fired a jelly-legs jinx that had Mulciber tumbling and somersaulting on the ground. "Don't think that you can bully me around. It stops now." Mulciber was trying in vain to right himself but his legs kept collapsing at odd angles. To make sure that he could not hurt her or Emmeline she pointed her wand at Mulciber. "Accio wand." Mulciber's wand shot out of from under him with such force that his trousers split in half. "Er- sorry? But not sorry!"

Lily pocketed Mulciber's wand and looked around, her brain working in overdrive to decide whether she should find Madame Pomfrey or Professor Dumbledore first. "Hm. Petrificus totales!" Mulciber's limbs latched tightly together in an unbreakable bind. "That decides it, then. Professor Dumbledore!" Lily levitated Mulciber's body, turning it upright so it could follow her through the halls. Unfortunately the angle in which he was dangling had his pants pooling around his ankles to reveal green and black striped boxers. "Oops!" Lily flushed and hurried off in the direction of the Headmaster's office, leaving Mulciber floating in the corridor.

By breakfast the next morning, the whole school had caught wind of what happened the night before. The Marauders were no different and were positively delighted. "Oy, Mulciber!" Sirius called across the Great Hall. Mulciber had his head hanging down over his buttered toast, reading what must have been his detention sentence for the following two weeks. "Heard you fell head over heels for Lily Evans, your pants hanging about your ankles! Don't you know she likes men who can actually keep it in their pants!"

"Mr. Black!" Professor McGonnagal admonished from the Head table.

"Sorry Professor!" Sirius smiled charmingly up at her.

"Really, how did you hear?" Lily huffed as she joined them at the table.

"Peeves." Remus answered. "Came bounding down the hallway shouting the news. Hard not to hear him."

"Are you alright?" James leaned in close to Lily. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No of course not." Lily waved him off. "But poor Emmeline, we had to take her to the hospital wing. Mulciber hit her pretty hard with a stunning spell."

"Speaking of!" Peter nodded his head towards the Ravenclaw Prefect who was now walking towards their table. Lily immediately slid over to make room for Emmeline to sit down.

"No, no, that's okay." Emmeline flushed. "I just wanted to say thank you for last night. And that if you ever need anything, anything at all, I'd be more than happy to help."

Lily beamed warmly up at Emmeline. "I'm just glad you're okay." Emmeline smiled, nodded, and walked back to her House table. The encounter with Mulciber seemed to be exactly what Lily needed to bolster her confidence. She was excited to see what tricks she could learn that night at dueling practice.

Lily hummed happily and turned back to her plate. She poured a glass of pumpkin juice, spread jelly on her toast, and was about to reach for the grapes when loud popping noises filled the hall. Lily, along with the rest of the Great Hall, turned around searching for the source. Little puffs of colored smoke plumed at each table, covering the Hall in a multi-colored haze. The source of the smoke made itself known when a similar pop sounded just behind Lily. Lily turned in time to see the bowl of grapes she was just reaching for explode one-by-one, the smoke blooming from the seeds in bright colors. She eyed the Marauders at the end of the table suspiciously.

"Take that, house elves!" Peter muttered triumphantly. "That's what happens when you take away our seedless grapes!"

The week had passed quickly and all-to-soon came the day Lily would participate in her first mission. Benjy had been nothing but fantastic in his teaching and Lily, though still nervous, had a newfound faith in her natural abilities. Whereas last Saturday Lily had spent the day playing volleyball on the beach with friends, this Saturday the Order had gathered in Professor Dumbledore's office donned in dark cloaks and boots. Lily herself wore a thin woolen cap to subdue her bright red hair. This was not the first mission the Order had done, but it was the first to have every member participate.

From what Lily gathered, most of the Order was apparating to an old mansion belonging to a Death Eater, Lily could not say which. Once they secured the perimeter, James, Lily and a few others would arrive by Portkey. The more seasoned wizards would be providing a distraction while the second group, Lily and James included, would search for clues as to Voldemort's whereabouts and his supporters. Dumbledore reviewed the details and wished everyone good luck.

As the first group of Order members stood to leave, Benjy Fenwick leaned in for a few last minute pointers. "Remember- your goal is to escape, NOT fight - disarming and stunning spells work best - use anything that comes to mind, at the very least it will be a distraction!" James nodded resolutely. Lily's eyes however widened to the size of saucers as the gravity of the situation sank in.

Benjy gave her a fond pat on the shoulder. "Lily, you've got a very cool head when trouble comes your way. I know you'll be fine. See you back here." And with that, he stood up to leave with the others, taking the Floo network to some pub in Hogsmeade that they could apparate from.

The next half hour passed in tense silence as the remaining group waited until their portkey was activated. Dumbledore checked his watch. "Alright everyone, places please." The group jerked upright and reached out a finger to touch a flowerpot sitting on Dumbledore's desk. "3-2-1!" Lily lurched forward with a strange tugging sensation behind her navel that was dragging her through space, sending her spiraling around and around. When the world stopped spinning, Lily could feel herself falling. She waved her hands wildly to slow her descent, but it still did not keep her from falling flat on her face.

It was lucky that Lily had fallen on her face, otherwise she would have been blasted backwards like the wizard behind her. It took a moment for Lily to sift through the loud explosions and frantic yelling to realize they were under attack. Jets of red light were shooting back and forth over her head. When she peaked her head up from the long grass she could see movement from around the house. Her stomach dropped- they came too soon! The perimeter was not clear. It looked like there were more people in this house than they were expecting.

Lily crawled across the ground, wand in hand, to a thick tree at the edge of the thicket that she could stand safely behind. She peeked out once more, looking for the other members of the Order. Most of them had crawled to the trees like she had. But one stayed unnaturally still on the ground, messy black hair sticking up from the grass. "James!" She gasped.

"Right here, love." James panted to her left, causing Lily to jump in shock.

"But- I thought that was you!" Lily cried, pointing to the body on the ground.

James solemnly shook his head. "Listen, I've brought my cloak with me. It won't keep us from getting hit with spells, but it will keep us hidden." Without waiting for permission, he shook out his cloak and draped it over the two of them.

Lily gasped in surprise as her feet and hands disappeared from sight. "An invisibility cloak? How did you get one?"

James adjusted the cloak so that it completely covered their toes. "It's been in the family for years, passed down from father to son. Dad gave it to me just the other day when he found out I was in the Order."

"Your parents know?"

"Of course. My dad is head of the Auror department. He's an Order member himself, though he can't attend meetings in case they're compromised."

"James Potter! Who knew you were so full of secrets!" Lily laughed despite the panic-stricken atmosphere.

"Believe me, you don't even know the half of them. Let's go, I bet we can get inside." James nudged Lily forward and together they ducked and weaved through the fighting and arrived at a side door to the mansion.

"Here, let me. Alohamora." Lily whispered, her wand unlocking the door. The door creaked loudly as the two warily entered the house. It was very old indeed, a musty rug running down the center of the hardwood hallway, old portraits in rusted frames hung high on the walls. But the mansion was quiet. It seemed everyone was outside for the fighting. James and Lily peeked into the rooms that lined the hall. They found a kitchen, music room, dining room, ballroom and then finally a study.

As soon as they opened the door, a startled voice shouted "Who's there?"

"It's Benjy!" Lily said, throwing the invisibility cloak off her and walking fully into the room.

"Blimey, is that an invisibility cloak? Brilliant!" Benjy praised. His wand hand was free, the other clutched several documents. "I think I've found meeting papers. There's a roster and everything. Check out that drawer over there in the corner. I'll just finish up here and we can all go."

James and Lily started pulling open drawers and sifting through papers, most of which seemed to be an inventory of some sort, when they heard footsteps and shouting coming down the hallway. "This way!" The voices shouted, "If they're here they're looking for something. And if they're going to find anything, it's going to be in this room down here!"

The three of them froze. Benjy moved first, crumpling the papers into a ball and tossing them to James. James caught them and stuffed it into his pocked before throwing the invisibility cloak around him and Lily. Just then, before Benjy had a chance to duck down, the study door crashed open with a bang.

"Expeliarmus!" Benjy cried, immediately disarming the first wizard. But it was four against one. Benjy turned his eyes to look directly at the spot James and Lily had disappeared in. "Go!" He cried. Then a jet of icy blue light hit him and he froze, his mouth still open in his warning. The light engulfed Benjy, crystallizing his skin until a sickening crack sounded and the body of Benjy Fenwick split into a thousand pieces onto the carpet.

Lily's mouth opened in a silent scream but James was quick and was already pulling her out the door as the four Death Eaters fully entered the room. It was very difficult to run together under the invisibility cloak and as soon as they burst free of the mansion, James pulled it off. "Run!' He shouted. "Into the forest!"

Lily had never run so fast in her life. Keeping pace with James, they rushed back into the trees. Lily clutched her side in pain as her muscles cramped with every step. She swore that if she ever got out of this, she would start joining James in his morning workout routines. The two had been running blindly for a good mile when Lily could not take the pain anymore. She doubled over, head between her knees, and gasped for breath. "Where is everyone?" She asked once she was able to collect herself.

"They may have apparated already." James said. "C'mon, let's get moving. There could be others searching the woods."

Lily took one last look at the mansion through the trees. The flowerpot, their port key, was nowhere to be seen. She resolutely turned back around and trudged deeper into the forest. Quite suddenly, with a whoosh of air that knocked her breath out, Lily found herself dangling 10 feet above the ground in what felt like a glass bubble. "James-" She wheezed, trying to get her air back. James continued to walk through the forest. "James!" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Lily slammed her fist against the bubble in frustration. But then she saw figures approaching in the distance and there was no mistaking their pointed hats and skull masks. "JAMES!"