I don't own Harry Potter.

Thanks for reviews: phhsdj, Althea27, Eawynne, Anotherboarduser, ujemaima, Saramagician, Bonniebonbon.

I am still a bit depressed over Kingsley's death last chapter, so no bad things in this chapter! I promise.

Chapter 34 "Old Enemy, now Friend"

Lily felt strange walking down the hallways of her old school. Hogwarts was still as magnificent as she remembered it, but she felt out of place. She had been feeling like that alot lately, ever since that Death Eater attack in which Kingsley had been killed. She had placed protective charms on her parents' house, and on Severus' shop, to ward against intruders and fire or other damage against the houses. She was wary and distrustful, studying people's faces as they passed her, and her wand was always in her pocket, so she could grab it in a split second's notice. She felt like she couldn't trust anyone anymore, and that had always been one of her best qualities, she had thought. Always offering help, talking to people, and encouraging them. But know she could barely look strangers in the eyes without wondering if they supported Voldemort. And that's why she was on her way to Dumbledore's office. She wanted to help defeat Voldemort, so people would be safe again. And for revenge for Kingsley. Her eyes teared up as she thought of him.

She had gone to his funeral the day after the attack and it had been lovely. She was unable to stay for the whole thing however, as she was too upset.

Lily brushed her tears away as she stepped up on the spiral staircase that led to Dumbledore's office, and it took her up, up, up to a large wooden door. She stepped off and hesitated a moment before knocking.

"Enter," she heard the headmaster say, and she pushed the door open. Dumbledore was seated behind his large desk, tiny whirring instruments, books and papers littering the top of it. Dumbledore studied her curiously with bright blue eyes; it seemed as if he was x-raying her and peering into her soul.

Lily cleared her throat nervously before beginning. "I don't know if you remember me, but I was a student here a few years ago. My name is Lily Evans."

Dumbledore locked his hands and placed them in front of him on his desk, watching her closely. "It just so happens I do remember you. You were in the Daily Prophet as well a few weeks back. Are you coping well after your ordeal with James Potter?"

Lily looked at him in surprise; she had not been aware her story had been in the paper. She didn't read the Prophet and she had been too out of it to notice the comments peoples had probably made to her.

"I'm doing fine," Lily said curtly. She had not come to talk about HIM, there were more important things to discuss. "I know you're heading an organization dedicated to destroying Voldemort. I want to help. One of my friends, Kingsley Shacklebolt, was just murdered. I was at the scene where the Death Eaters attacked that muggle town. So many people dead..I don't want that to happen to anyone else."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, and Lily thought he looked a bit apprehensive as he cleared his throat.

"I will accept anyone who is willing to fight against Voldmort, but I must warn you it is very dangerous. You will be putting your life at risk-"

"I know that, sir. I have thought about it a great deal. You think after I saw that carnage I wouldn't know what's involved?" Lily frowned. She had thought about it alot, and especially about what Severus would think, but she had to do this.

"That's what I thought," Dumbledore sighed. "You always were a brave girl. If you want to join, I will gladly accept your help. There is a meeting next week, if you would care to join us. You can make your decision then."

"Yes, I'll be glad to come. Where is it?"

"For now, we're holding meetings in an old abandoned house on 116 Facett Avenue in Lower Dumfrey. It will be at 6:00 on Friday, can you remember that?"

"Yes. thank you sir, for letting me help. I'm a Healer, so I can help if anyone gets injured and I have connections at the hospital." Lily said eagerly, already anxious to start fighting.

"That would be very helpful." Dumbledore smiled at the young woman, who looked like she had suffered through too much at such a young age. "I will see you next week, Lily."

"Thank you, sir," Lily smiled back, feeling like she had accomplished something important, when she knew the only thing she had accomplished so far was agreeing to put her life in danger.

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Lily looked up at the old house whose shutters were swinging off their hinges and the paint that was peeling away in long strips. There was no sign that anyone else was here; the house was quiet and dark. She looked cautiously around before moving up to the front door and pushing it open. She was assaulted with a barrage of noises, smells and lights that made her jump back in surprise. She must have looked shocked, because a short wizard standing not too far away spotted her and tugged her inside quickly, shutting the door behind them.

"Yes, I know it doesn't look it from the outside, but there are charms on the house to prevent passerby from seeing or hearing anything that's going on in here." the short man smiled at her. "Dumbledore told me there would be a new recruit coming tonight. You're Lily Evans?"

"Yes," Lily said.

"Welcome to the Order of The Phoenix. I'm Dedalus Diggle. Let me introduce you to everyone until Dumbledore gets here to start the meeting." he led her into the living room of the house where most of the noise was coming from, the boards creaking uneasily beneath their feet. Lily sighed in relief that Dedalus had taken her under his wing; she had been a bit unsure of how she was going to proceed when she reached the meeting.

Several members were practicing new defensive spells in the corner, which explained the bursts of light she had seen. The ones who were talking quietly amongst themselves, sitting on the mix-matched furniture in the room looked up when Dedalus and Lily entered.

Dedalus grabbed Lily's arm and tugged her over to the largest group.

"This is Lily Evans. She here's to join us." Dedalus announced to the group. "That's Edgar Bones," a man in his mid-thirties who had a rather ludicrous goatee raised a hand.

"Caradoc Dearborn," an older man who was wearing a plum-colored vest smiled at her.

"Benjy Fenwick." The handsome man with the dark hair who was standing next to Edgar winked.

"Emmeline Vance," a stern-looking woman with thick black hair and dark eyes shook her hand.

"And Sturgis Podmore, Marlene McKinnon, and Dorcas Meadowes." Dedalus pointed out the last three members in the group, who nodded at Lily.

"Lily?" a surprised voice said from behind her, and she turned around. She frowned at the young man staring at her. He looked vaguely familiar.

"It's Remus, Remus Lupin."

Lily's expression hardened a bit as she recognized him. She had never blamed Remus for all the crap that James and the other two pulled and she had always felt sorry for him. But that face reminded her harshly of James, and she had not been expecting that.

Remus noticed her expression, and a look of shame came over his face. "Listen, I'm sorry about everything that happened. I'm sorry about what James did to you. I saw it in the paper."

Lily softened a bit hearing that statement and placed a hand on Remus' arm. "It wasn't your fault," Lily said softly. She studied his worried face. "You and I are a bit alike, I think. We were both drawn in by James, but we both escaped, Remus. You sooner then me, you were smarter and realized what a bastard he was sooner then I, but we both still escaped."

"So you don't think badly of me?" Remus said, his face relaxing a bit.

"No. You never wanted to be a part of any of those horrible things the Marauder's did. I saw it in your eyes. And now, joining the Order shows you aren't as selfish as they were." She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Lily." Remus looked relieved, and Lily gave him a hug impulsively.

"Very well, you too know each other, that's good. Now may I continue?" Dedalus interrupted, getting impatient.

"Yeah, go on," Remus chuckled before leaning over and whispering in Lily's ear," Dedalus is a stickler for details. Self-proclaimed introducer of people. You see."

"That's Fabian and Gideon Prewett," Dedalus pointed to two twin men who were practicing dueling with two other people. "Those people they're dueling with are Elphias Dodge and Mundungus Fletcher," he gestured to a rather frail looking older man and a bald, grungy man.

"That's Frank and Alice Longbottom over there," Lily got a a shock of recognition as she recognized the couple sitting in the corner. They were a few years ahead of her at Hogwarts, but she knew them. Frank, a tall strapping former Gryffindor, and Alice, a former Hufflepuff, who was currently smiling at her husband who had a hand on her slightly distended stomach.

Dedalus continued, unaware that Lily was staring at the Longbottoms.

"And that's Alastor Moody," he pointed to the last person in the room, who was sitting in the shadows, hiding his face. As Lily watched, he raised a silver flask to his mouth a took a gulp of whatever was inside. She shivered for some reason; she had a feeling it wouldn't be a good idea to get on his bad side.

"That's everyone that's here. There are a couple of other people, they should be coming soon." Dedalus glanced at his rather complicated looking watch and tapped it. As if on cue, the front door suddenly opened and Lily turned to watch in interest as to who would arriving.

Four more people entered the room, one of them being Dumbledore himself. The man next to Dumbledore looked so much like him that Lily guessed he must be a relative. "That's Aberfoth, Albus' brother." Dedalus said, nodding at the new arrivals in greeting.

A stern looking witch brushed her robes off, and Lily recognized her as the Hogwarts transfiguration teacher, Minerva Mcgonagall.

And the last man was so tall Lily had to look up to see his face. She had seen him at Hogwarts, too and she was pretty sure his name was Hagrid.

"Minerva Mcgonagall, who teaches at Hogwarts, and Rubeus Hagrid, who is the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at the school also."

Dumbledore smiled at Lily before calling out," Let us start the meeting, please." The members of the order ceased all their speaking and took a seat wherever there was room. When they were all settled, Lily was squeezed between Dedalus and Emmeline on the couch, and Dumbledore went to the front of the room and cleared his throat. "I assume you all heard about that Death Eater attack on the muggle town last week?"

There was a wave of soft yeses, rather subdued.

"Thirty-five muggles and five aurors were killed before the Death Eaters left. This has been the most open attack yet. It means the Dark Side is growing bolder. They believe that they are taking more control, and are being opposed less."

"Well, they better set themselves straight, cause we're here!" Emmeline huffed loudly from Lily's right, and Dumbledore smiled at her.

"Yes, we are here." Dumbledore gestured around him. "And we have a new addition to the Order. I'm sure you have all met Lily Evans already?"

Lily blushed as everyone turned to look at her. She suddenly felt very young and inexperienced next to everyone else.

"She is a Healer, and will be able to help us with any medical emergencies we might have." Dumbledore clapped his hands, and a map began drawing itself on the blank space of wall behind him. "Now, to business. Sturgis, Marlene, do you have any information about our list of suspected Death Eaters?"

"Aye," Sturgis stood. "Lucius Malfoy is definitely one of 'em. When we was scouting his house, we saw him leave wearing a Death Eater mask. Then he Apparated off his front stoop."

Dumbledore bowed his head gravely. "He has important connections at the Ministry, too. That is not good news. was there anyone else?"

"Yes." Marlene piped up."Regulus Black was seen exiting his parents home at Grimmauld place also carrying a Death Eater mask and robes. You are right, Albus, they are getting bolder. They don't seem to care if anyone sees them with their Death Eater garb."

Dumbledore nodded before turning to Moody and the Prewett twins. "Did you three have any luck locating the Death Eater's meeting place?"

Moody growled audibly. "No. But we suspect they might be doing the same as us, moving from place to place so as to be detected."

"Well, keep working on that. We must know where they're meeting. Does anyone else have any other information on the Death Eaters or Lord Voldemort?"

The group shook their heads.

"Very well. There's one thing I would like you all to do this week. Please work together to place protective charms over muggle neighborhoods. We must try to protect them from future attacks. The charms will help to ward off the Death Eaters and keep the muggles safe. I am working on a lead I have right now to defeat Lord Voldemort, but I need more time. So that will be all for today. But please take the time to go around and place those protective charms on nearby muggle neighborhoods. I will contact you all with the time for the next meeting."

There was rustlings and whispers as everyone stood and talked among themselves, wondering about Dumbledore's new lead on Voldemort. But they knew better then to ask; Dumbledore would tell them when he was ready.

"What did you think?" Remus' voice in Lily's ear made her jump.

"Oh, you scared me!" Lily touched her heart, which was beating rapidly.

"Sorry," he apologized as Lily stood up, joining everyone else.

Lily laughed at the intense, apologetic expression on Remus' face. "It's okay, don't be sorry! I think this will be good for me. I want to help destroy Voldemort and his followers, I can't just sit by and watch them torture and kill innocent people."

Remus nodded, his eyes fixed on her. They showed a kind of desperation as he cleared his throat and stated, "So you broke up with James."

"Yeah." Lily's expression darkened at the change of subject. She moved aside so Hagrid wouldn't knock her down in an attempt to squeeze past. "It took me way too long, but he's in prison now."

Remus reddened as he tried to force garbled words out.

"I'm sorry?" Lily was perplexed; she didn't understand a word he said.

"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight? We could go out-"

"Oh, Remus, no, I can't!" Lily said quickly, but then felt horrible at the look on Remus' face. "It's not you, I'm with someone. Do you remember Severus?"

"Severus Snape?" It was Remus' turn to look surprised. " The one the Marauders' picked on so much?"

"Yes. And although you're great, Remus, I wouldn't trade Sev for the world." Lily said. "We're supposed to get married, actually. He was the one who saved me from James."

"There wasn't anything in the paper about that," Remus frowned. "Only how James tortured you and then was caught by the Ministry and imprisoned. Where is he now?"

"Azkaban." Lily said shortly.

"Why? That doesn't make any sense." Remus looked confused.

"Because he killed Sirius Black."

Remus' eyebrows shot up. "Sirius is dead? Wow. Even though I really started to hate the Marauders before I left the group, they were the only friends I ever had. Its just weird to think. Is Snape-Severus in prison for life?" he asked quickly, hoping Lily wouldn't be upset by the question.

"No, he got a shortened sentence, because he was doing it to protect me. But it feels like a life sentence to me," Lily said quietly, looking down at the ground and squeezing her hands together.

"I'm sorry, Lily." Remus patted her shoulder. "Do you want me to bring you home? It's getting late, and I have to work tomorrow."

Lily nodded, and looped her arm around Remus' as they exited the room behind the last of the other order members. She grinned wickedly. "So, Remus. You have a little crush on me?"

Remus blushed at her touch and her question. He cleared his throat. "Do I have to answer that?"

"I won't tell Sev," Lily smiled slyly.

Remus' eyes took on a glazed expression as he explained. "I watched you go around with James, and I was so jealous. You were beautiful, smart and kind, and I didn't like how he treated you, like some kind of possession."

Lily frowned. "You, Severus. How come I never noticed the good guys that wanted to go out with me? I don't understand how I could have become so wrapped up with James."

Remus shrugged. "Love, or what you think is love, can do funny things to your head."

"Yeah, don't I know it." Lily scowled. They stepped outside and stared up at the dark night sky.

"You want to lead in side along?" Remus asked quietly, and Lily nodded. She closed her eyes, and Remus gripped her tightly as they spun on the spot. When they were opened their eyes, they were in front of the potion's shop.

"This is where you live?" Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, it's Severus' place. I moved here basically right after Severus was inprisioned." Lily released her grip on Remus. "I guess I'll see you at the next meeting then,"

"I might not be there, depending on when it is. I'm in the process of looking for a new place to live. I'm getting evicted from my old place in a muggle neighborhood. Insufficient funds." Remus said grimly.

Lily put her hands over her mouth. "Oh, Remus, that's terrible! Why don't you stay here with me until you find a place? There's plenty of room."

"Are you sure? Severus wouldn't care?" Remus raised his eyebrows. He didn't want to get Lily in trouble with Severus, lest he think she was cheating on him.

"No, he wouldn't care that I'm helping a friend. You can your things over tomorrow, if you like. That way you can take your time searching for a new place, and you wouldn't have to worry about it as much. Please, Remus. Let me help you."

Remus glanced up at the shop reluctantly. "Alright, if you're sure,"

"I'm sure!" Lily said. "Now stop asking me questions and go home."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." Remus smiled.

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow." Lily waved and went inside the shop, locking the door behind her.

Remus sighed in relief. That was one thing off his plate. His heart dropped suddenly; should he have told her about his condition? He was always trying to keep it a secret, but if he would be living here for a little while... he would tell her tomorrow and let her make her decision then. If she said no, that he couldn't move in, he would understand. That was the view most people took anyway so he was used to it. He spun on the spot, heading home, and left the street dark and empty.

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