Chapter Two

Lily woke as the sun filtered into the library she yawned and stretched, falling off the couch and onto the floor with a yelp. It took a moment for her sleep-muddled brain to clear enough to remember that she had two legs instead of four. She frowned realizing that she still had to take something from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault, she then remembered a rule that was handy for her to use. Those who were the head of a family house had access to those that were of that house. The current head of house Black was Sirius Black. Lily cast the locator charm at once and disapparated to his location. Sirius stared at her in shock, he was in dog form, he looked emaciated and Lily smiled at him. "Sirius you will be a free man soon, I found Pettigrew and I'll testify on your behalf, but I need your help." Lily said and she watched as Sirius transformed.

"Whatever you need Lily." Sirius said and Lily smiled.

"Thank you Sirius." Lily said and hugged him. "We need to access your cousin Bellatrix's vault and destroy everything inside." Sirius grinned.

"Sounds like fun, when do we leave?"

"Now would be preferable I have lessons to teach." Lily said and Sirius laughed, they disapparated to Gringotts together and Sirius smiled charmingly at one of the goblins.

"I by right of family ties and sworn fealty to house Black, do ask for the vault of one Bellatrix Lestrange Nee Black." Sirius said and the goblin nodded.

"What has she done, to have her possessions taken from her?"

"She has dishonored our house, it is one thing to be on the opposite sides of a war, quite another to curse a child's parents and take them from him."

"That is reason enough to cease all possessions belonging to Bellatrix Lestrange Nee Black, you will be taken to the vaults at once."

"Thank you." Sirius said and together they rode down into a deep tunnel, when they finally reached the vault, Lily smiled, she took out her wand as the goblin opened it and cast fiendfire over the entire contents of the vault.

"Transfer the money to my account, give the cursed items to the ministry, let it be known that Bellatrix Lestrange no longer is free to carry the legacy of House Black." Sirius stated and the goblin nodded. Together they left the vault and Sirius stared at the aurors and reporters waiting for them.

"Sirius is a free man, he did not do the crimes of which he was sentenced for." Lily said.

"Breaking out of Azkaban is a crime in itself."

"I should have never gone to Azkaban, I received no trial, and if anyone had thought to try me or to give me Veriteserum I would have gladly testified. My rights were violated and therefore I was falsely imprisoned. I broke out because I believed the life of my Godson was in danger. The true person responsible for the death of James was posing as the pet of a boy who shared a dorm with Harry Potter, I couldn't let the threat to my godson's life stand, so I broke out to protect him."

"Would you swear to such in testimony at Peter Pettigrew's trial?"

"I would agree to that, so your trying people now, is that it? Innocent men languish in jail when the likes of Lucius Malfoy and Havier Goyle go free because they can afford to deepen ministry pockets? There is no justice in our legal system, where criminals can plead that they were under the imperious curse and not responsible for any of their actions. Voldemort could have cursed them once and they would still be able to plead the case that they were suffering from the imperious curse."

"How do you know about current events?"

"Prisoners talk, or more of scream their outrage and it's fairly clear to me that our system of justice is a farce. Too often the wrong people are blamed, for example I have a friend named Rubeus Hagrid, he's half giant and therefore people assume the worst of him. When he was a third year I believe he was framed by another student, right around the same time the Death Eaters were first created by the founding members. He was sent to Azkaban six months ago, because the Chamber of Secrets Reopened, once it was discovered that Voldemort had in fact opened the chamber of Secrets and Harry fought him, he was released from the prison. Still he was imprisoned for six months, for a crime he didn't commit when he was thirteen years old! This world values blood too highly and the abilities of others that don't have it, or have the wrong sort of blood not highly enough. Having a magical creature inheritance is fine, if you are one of the prettier ones, most of the old families are distantly related to furies, veela, or dark fey, but heaven forbid you have goblin, centaur, merfolk, dwarf or giant relations. Not to mention the plight of the werewolves, who can't help their condition, once a month they might go furry, so either have them take wolfsbane or run through the forests. They should be allowed the same rights as any other wizard or witch, as should those with magical creature inheritance. If a scion of an ancient house can be falsely imprisoned, what does that say about our government and our society?"

"You repudiate those with a long line of wizards and witches that contributed to our society and call yourself a scion of an ancient house in another?"

"I am much more than a scion, I am the head of House Black, after my brother's untimely death, there was no one else of direct decent to take leadership of our ancient and noble house. I therefore am not just a Scion, I am Lord Black, for what that is worth. More than that, I am a man who has suffered because he fought for your freedoms, because he was wrongly accused of a crime that he did not commit. I am a man who counts werewolves, muggleborns and half giants among my friends and feels that they have a right to have the same opportunities as any other wizard. That if I were to have children, I would be happy for them to have a werewolf for a friend, if they were half the friend mine was to me, they would be lucky and richer for that friendship. There are some things more valuable than gold and those include true friendship and loyalty to one another. I failed my werewolf friend and did not trust in his motives, I begged my best friend James Potter to switch secret keepers to Peter Pettigrew and for that mistake I will pay the rest of my life.

The world is poorer without James Potter in it and had I trusted my friend, had I not doubted that he would never support Voldemort or turn against those he cared about, despite the fact that Voldemort was offering him better rights than he was receiving...We could have avoided so much suffering, we still can, by allowing those with magical ability to exceed expectations. To go beyond the limits of birth and to serve our society and make advancements for our people. How much more magical innovation would we have at this point, if we listened equally to muggle borns and half bloods? How many more spells and potions might we have, if all were allowed equal rights within our society? You can see the proof of their contributions, I stand with Lily Potter, my dear friend, who also is muggleborn. She was always asking me questions, after she got together with my friend James. I answered them to the best of my ability, but after I was sorted into Gryffindor, my lessons in decorum became agony to me, rather than joy. Cursing a child into understanding what you are trying to teach them, only results in the child hating you and repudiating what you are trying to teach. My brother though cleaver was a coward, he'd do exactly as my parents told him and it got him killed. I'm not saying all Slytherin are cowards, just like not all Gryffindor are brave."

"The hat puts us where we most need to go, not where we deserve to go, or where we most would fit in. If that were the case, I would have either been a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw. I wanted people to see me for more than my intelligence and as for Slytherin, the rest of the dorm would have made my life a living hell. It took fifteen minutes but the hat ultimately settled on Gryffindor. I have always been fairly brave, but being among others who lived their lives to the fullest and were brave despite the horrors of the first time Voldemort came to power, I learned something; I learned that you don't know if you will live to see tomorrow, that every day is a gift and should be lived to the fullest. For me that mean reading ancient books and learning all I can, using that knowledge to protect the ones I love and to make my life easier is how I live my life to the fullest. When you enjoy something about each day, even when your circumstances are horrible, you can learn to appreciate what you do have." Lily said

"Or you can go insane, I nearly did. Dementors aren't effective guards, the only reason that no one escapes Azkaban is that either they are released, or they go completely mad. It's nearly impossible to retain your sanity and I've watched at least fifty wizards and witches go insane. Keeping dementors in Azkaban is simply cruelty to its highest degree. Yes they make others afraid to commit crimes, but its better to be kept under the imperius curse, or to be killed than to slowly loose your sanity and yourself. That's what happens when you're forced to repeat the same memories over and over again. I want Peter Pettigrew to die for what he did to me and what he did to James, as well as the thirteen innocent people he killed. I don't want him to be sent to Azkaban because he's a rat and he'll easily be able to escape his cage. He doesn't deserve that, but he doesn't deserve to be tortured into insanity either, no one does. I started to feel sorry for them, these people that had killed people I had liked, seen as friends, because they were going through sheer hell. I watched as they lost all sense of themselves, until they were screaming at the walls and ripping at their own skin. Hatred is easy, where as love is hard, forgiveness is hardest of all. I can't forgive Peter Pettigrew, because he didn't believe what he was doing was right, he did it to save his own skin. He murdered thirteen people to save his own life because make no mistake, I would have killed that dammed traitor. I still want him dead, want it with every inch of my being and the thought of killing him is what kept my sanity. I fixated on that every time I saw my best friend lying dead on the ground and heard the screams of his fifteen-month-old baby. I fixated on that, as I felt my father beat me and felt him curse me over and over again. I felt that need to kill him, as my mother yelled at me for not being the son she wanted, the son she felt she deserved. As I had to relive the deaths I was responsible for while being an auror and fighting against Voldemort's Rebellion. Our way of life is dying, but killing muggleborns and half bloods won't bring it back, celebrating our traditions and sharing them freely will. Learning from one another and respecting the forces that guide our magic and our lives will."

"In addition Pureblood wizard traditions aren't actually how wizards originally preformed their rites and rituals. The way of thinking that gave birth to the modern day Pureblood society actually has its roots in the thirteenth century MD. Before that people had an entirely different approach towards magic and how magical creatures were treated. During the fifteenth century, there were enough people with an isolationist viewpoint that legislation was passed, that classified wizards as the most superior beings on the planet. In addition to which, magic which had never had been classified before was either classified as light magic, grey magic, or dark magic. These classifications have changed with time and with every new generation more and more spells are classified as dark magic, or forbidden magic. In addition to which more cursed objects are confiscated every year. I'm not saying that we should allow people to use whatever spell they like, but magic is always about intent first and foremost. If your intent is to harm, even a first year levitating charm or a petrifying jinx can be deadly. I don't think people should be punished for using magic, however if someone intends to do lasting harm to another witch or wizard, they should be held accountable." Lily said and took out her wand. "Acuomunda" She muttered pointing her wand at her wrist, instantly a large gash opened across her wrist and she held up her bleeding left hand. "

"Conclusivulnus." She said loudly and her wrist closed up. "The first spell is a cutting jinx which was used in ancient rights and rituals. The second spell I used was one that heals wounds. Both spells went out of practice in the twelfth century, because wizards were so afraid of being hunted down and burnt by angry mobs of muggle, that they stopped practicing their rituals for a period of thirty years. By the time the Flame-Freezing Charm was invented and it was considered safe to practice, the rituals again, many of the elders had passed and much knowledge was lost. The losses of this time period are greater than that suffered by the wizard community during the rise of the Dark Lord Grindlewald and Voldemort combined. Every magical family lost at least ten people who were close relations and that devastation is still very much in the minds of Pureblood wizards to this very day. Muggle aren't yet advanced enough to handle the existence of our society, however this does not mean I believe that we should separate ourselves from other magical beings. We shouldn't divide ourselves by species, ancestry or wealth. We should try to find what we have in common, rather than seeking things that divide us. We should remember that we all have certain strengths and weaknesses and we should never assume the capability of another wizard based on blood status. I now know three thousand curses, charms, hexes and jinxes, I can make contracts with the elements, I can make fireballs appear in the palm of my hands, I can make someone happy even when they have lost everything and make someone feel despair even when they are the happiest of people. Voldemort was right on one count, there is no good or evil only power and those that are willing to use it. I am willing to use it, I will use it to protect those I love." Lily said and smiled, before she disapparated from the bank and into the library at Hogwarts, she'd read long ago that the founders had made their decedents able to apparate into the building at will as long as they didn't mean any harm to the students there.

Lily walked up to Gryffindor tower and knocked on the door, a older boy answered it and stared at her. "Something is wrong with your son, we've got him in a body bind but..." Lily rushed past him to where Harry was on the floor cursing in parseltongue. She stared down at her child hoping that she was right, that the spell she was about to use wouldn't kill her baby.

"Be gone parasite from the body of a pure soul, for all you will receive in there is torment. Be gone creature, crying out in pain, for you have lost all but one part of your soul. Be gone creature for I will not allow you to harm my son! Be gone creature for you are no longer a man and to you existence is pain. Be gone creature that was once a child, who suffered the cruelty of others. Be gone creature you are no longer a man, but a shadow of what you could have been. In the name of the four elements, in the name of the cycle, I banish you to the realms beyond this life. May you find peace in the next." Lily intoned as she said the words Harry screamed and cursed at her, before his eyes rolled back into the back of his head and he went limp. A moment later he fell unconscious. "Ennervate." Lily said and Harry's eyes blinked open.

"Mum?" Harry said his eyes barely keeping open. "What happened?"

"You are alright now Harry, you must rest, my brave boy." Lily said and settled his head into her lap, stroking his hair gently as his eyes closed and he started to snore.

"What was that?" Hermione demanded.

"Ancient magic, pure magic, I am about to make my vows and so the spirits of nature permitted me to summon them, to heal Harry." Lily said and found she both felt tired and invigorated. "The ancient knowledge is something I would be willing to teach you, but you can only go so far in it, without swearing your vows."

"What vows are those?" Hermione asked and Lily smiled.

"I'll tell you at breakfast, first I must take my son to the hospital wing, so Pomphrey can check him over." Lily said and Hermione nodded, Lily cast a levitating charm on Harry and went to the hospital wing.

"Goodness what happened?"

"I defeated Voldemort, but before I could banish him from this plane, he took control of Harry." Lily replied and Pomphrey frowned.

"I will examine him, did you ensure that the spirit was gone from him?"

"I did, I woke him for a moment after to ensure it. I used an ancient rite of banishing evil spirits." Lily replied and Pomphrey nodded.

"Very good, do you know how long he should sleep for?"

"It said that three days was normal and tiredness could happen for another two." Lily replied and Pomphrey nodded.

"Thank you." Pomphrey said and Lily smiled at the healer.

"I did it for everyone, but most of all I did it for my son." Lily said and shuddered. "Voldemort was never fully human, he used dark magic to tear at his own soul, to ensure his own immortality. That dark magic twisted and corrupted him in ways that he could not have known would have happened to him."

"It is a good thing then that he is gone."

"A very good thing." Lily said and took her son's hand in her own, watching as his breath rose and fell in his chest. She didn't know how long she stayed there until the Hospital wing door flew open and a pale Severus was escorted in by two students, another four helping two injured students.

"I should not have taught today." Severus admitted, lying down on a bed. "Its my fault they were injured, I should have realized how exhausted I was and not taught classes." He laid back against the pillows and Madam Pomphrey glared at him.

"You do realize that I have an additional two patients now and you may have well set back your own recovery?" She demanded and got only a snore in response, Madam Pomphrey sighed and shook her head. "Put them over there dears, while I see to the professors, boils are easy enough to remove." She assured the injured second years, Lily watched as Madam Pomphrey summoned potions and checked Severus over. She sighed before administering the potions to the two students and sent them on their way, before giving a barrage of potions to Severus.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's got a fever from straining himself, I'm giving him some core strengtheners, as well as fever reducers and pain potions, as I imagine that he has quite the migraine by now." Madam Pomphrey said and indeed Severus' face seemed to relax as she finished administering the potions. Madam Pomphrey then took off his robes and boots and settled him under the blankets. "You don't have to stay dear, you must be hungry by now."

"I can't leave Harry." Lily said looking to her sleeping son and stroking back the hair on his face. Madam Pomphrey nodded, frowning slightly as she did so.

"Very well but at least eat something, I don't need a third patient in here for exhaustion." Madam Pomphrey said and Lily nodded, a moment later she was eating a delicious plate of chicken sandwiches. She finished the food and got out a quill, writing notes on what she wanted her classes to be and outlining in detail her course aims. She then started writing the textbooks the students would be using. She had finished the first one and working on the second, when Madam Pomphrey shook her arm.

"Its time for dinner dear, you always so absorbed in your work that Severus and later James would have to remind you to eat." Madam Pomphrey said and Lily laughed ruefully.

"I would like to stay with Harry."

"I'll make up a cot then, but I expect you to be in by ten. You've had a long day and you shouldn't be trying to do so much so soon."

"Yes Madam." Lily said and was given a bowl of soup, which she ate, and then another bowl.

"See if you can get him to wake enough to eat something, I'll tend to Severus." Madam Pomphrey said and Lily nodded, she shook Harry's shoulder gently and then slightly harder.

"Harry?" Lily asked and his eyes fluttered open, he groaned and put a hand to his face.

"Bright."

"Nox." Lily said dimming the lights. "Now can you eat some soup Harry?" She asked and he nodded, she sat with him as he finished and helped him to lie back down after he was done, gently tucking in the covers as she did so. She gently ran her fingers through his hair, he was asleep a moment later. Lily smiled down at her son and kissed him gently on the forehead.

"Leave me alone, I just want to rest." Severus protested.

"If you don't eat then you won't get better as quickly Severus." Madam Pomphrey chided and Lily walked over to Severus.

"Do as she says Severus, you know she'll get her way, one way or another." Lily said and Severus stared at her in wide-eyed adoration.

"Lily, I must be dreaming." He said and smiled. "I'm glad it's a good dream for once."

"Me too Sev, now eat your soup, after you finish we can talk" Lily said and Severus nodded hastily. "I'll be right here." Lily assured him and watched as Severus slowly ate his eyes drooping closed, before snapping open to only droop closed again. He barely finished the soup and Madam Pomphrey moved to help him to lie down.

"No I want to look at her, why are you in the hospital wing?" Severus said sounding confused, Lily realized that he truly thought he was dreaming.

"I came to watch over Harry and you." Lily said and smiled, taking his hand. "Now are you going to take care of yourself, or will I have to take out my wand and spell you into sleeping like I did when we were small."

"Didn't spell me." Severus protested weakly. "Just resting my eyes."

"And snoring." Lily said with a laugh.

"Laugh again your so pretty." Severus said and Lily laughed, he was clearly very disoriented, loopy from the pain potion and magical exhaustion.

"Thank you Severus, now lie back and I'll give you your present." Lily said and Severus lay back down.

"What present?" Severus asked, his eyes closing of their own accord.

"A bit of string that I tied around the ends of a rainbow." Lily said and Severus laughed. "What would you give me?"

"A stopper for death, I'm so sorry Lily." Severus said.

"Its alright Sev its not your fault, you didn't really realize what that prophecy meant, you were little more than a child. I forgave you long ago." Lily said and took his hand and squeezed. "What happened to me and James and Harry wasn't your fault, you were brainwashed into believing that you were doing the right thing." Lily said and Severus' eyes filled with tears, Lily hugged him. "None of that, everyone does things that they regret, but you realized what you were doing was wrong and you started working for the Order at great personal risk. It would have gotten out somehow, if it wasn't you it would have been someone else."

"But I killed you Lily!" Severus wailed and Lily stared at him in shocked surprise.

"Oh Sev, you didn't kill me, even if I had died, it would have been Voldemort that killed me, not you." Lily told him, but Severus didn't seem to be comprehending her words, all he seemed capable of was clinging to her as he sobbed. "Can I cast a sleeping spell?"

"He'll exhaust himself soon and its not recommended to do sleeping spells with cases of magical exhaustion." Madam Pomphrey said and Lily stared at Severus, having no choice but simply to hold him as he sobbed. His sobs ebbed until they stopped entirely and he became lax against her, his grip falling away as he started to snore. "I'll set him into bed deary." Madam Pomphrey said and Lily nodded, as Madam Pomphrey gently moved Severus so that he was lying down, against the cot, rather than curled into Lily. Lily stood and realized that she was exhausted, taking the cot that Madam Pomphrey had given her she crawled under the blankets and grabbed Harry's hand before falling asleep herself