Striking Arrows

Sirius was sleeping on the couch in the heads' common room; his legs sprawled on the head rest. Lily was sitting on the floor, resting her back on the couch, unpacking the gifts she'd gotten from her new friends. Mary and Pamela had given her a Pinkwizard. It was a calendar which, they said, would help her to remember important dates. Ted had gifted a Frangipani-luck. It was to ward off evil-eye and attract positive energy. It was a local tradition to gift Frangipani-lucks to guests, Ted told her. She picked up the last box. It was wrapped in red paper and tied with a golden ribbon. She untied the ribbon and unwrapped the gift. She opened the box and saw a crystal broomstick inside with a note attached to it. It read :

'Dearest Lily,

We became friends during the broomstick ride. It was the ride when I first saw my heart flying off to you. This gift is an attempt to make that moment immortal.

You said that you needed time. You have all the time in the world. The fact that you will be thinking about me all this time is enough for me to remain satisfied. Just remember that my love for you is not dependant on your answer. I'll love you whatever your reply be.

Aulay'

Lily read the letter and smiled to herself. Love turns up from unexpected corners but the corners you want it to erupt from, it never will – Lily thought to herself. She picked up the crystal broomstick and admired its delicate and sleek structure. Her heavy eyelids started drooping and her mind took off on the broomstick. It had been so long that she'd been away from Hogwarts. Now inside its embrace, she felt protected and comfortable. She rested her head on the arm-rest and slept.

Her eyes opened the next morning, when Sydney burst into the heads' dorm suddenly and started having an altercation with Sirius.

"Hi, Syd," Lily yawned.

Sydney forgot her altercation and hugged her friend. She had missed her, especially when there was nobody to play don't-you-love-James game with.

"Long time," she said.

"Yeah, long time," Lily replied.

Sydney turned back to Sirius and asked, "Are you still interested in having a girly gossip with us?"

Sirius made a barfing sound and pointed his forefinger to his tongue. Then he went inside the room, leaving Lily in piles of laughter.

"So how was the trip?" Sydney asked, adjusting herself on the couch.

Lily passed her a cushion. "Very tiring but very exciting,"

Very soon, Lily had uttered each and every detail of the trip. From the first look at the splendid castle to the day of the departure, Sydney now had the first hand knowledge of the trip from Lily's point of view.

"Aulay, quite a nice name. And I like the gift too," Sydney smiled and hinted towards the box on the table.

"Oh, you saw!" Lily smiled and showed her the gift. Sydney hooted after reading his note.

She asked Lily, "Crush?"

Lily shook her head in a no.

"Then why are you smiling?"

"Guess who he is,"

"Who?"

"He is James' stepbrother,"

"WHAT?"

Lily smiled.

"Hazel eyes?" Sydney asked again.

Lily nodded her head in a yes and then continued, "Anyway, how was your Hogsmeade trip?"

"Not bad. I went with Alice and I have a ripe juicy gossip for you,"

"What is that?"

"She's been getting anonymous bouquets everyday, since the last month,"

"Cute!"

"Very. Who do you think it can be?"

"Amos?"

"Diggory?" Can't be,"

"Why?"

"He asked Norah Benet out for the trip,"

"Bad taste,"

"Norah's,"

Both the girls squealed with laughter after that. They had a history with Amos Diggory. They had become friends because of him. Back in the first year, both the girls had a crush on him. He had asked Lily's the then pal Gertrude Cooper out. Lily had cried her heart out in front of Amos' the then best friend Sydney Parker. Both of them had been inseparable since then.

"Remember how weird his hairstyle was, when he'd gone on his first date with the ol' Gertrude?" Sydney reminisced in between her laughter.

"WAS?" Lily chuckled.

Both girls guffawed again.

"Maybe Cruz Benwood. He's always very sweet with Alice," Lily suggested after regaining her composure.

"Cruz is sweet with everybody. I think it is Frank,"

"Cherovin? That Ravenclaw ?"

"No, Longbottom,"

"How?"

"He stares at her quite a lot. I noticed during the past one week. Moreover, I saw him buying flowers from the florist near Three Broomsticks,"

Lily made an 'o' with her lips and winked at her.

"By the way, there is something else too," Sydney became solemn.

"What?"

"I think James is going out with Lou,"

Lily looked down and asked her why she thought so.

"I saw Lou kissing someone on the ridge in Hogsmeade. Later, Peter told me that though they were supposed to be together, it being a full moon day, James and Sirius joined them much later. He knew why Sirius got late, but even on asking, James dodged the question,"

Lily's heart sank. She could not get over the fact that James had gotten over her. Now that she harboured a crush on him, he had moved on with someone else. She forgot that she had borrowed time from Aulay, she forgot that it was Aulay's voice in the dream, she forgot that it was herself who had longed for him to leave her alone; she only remembered that James had a new girl with him, a new Lily.

It had been only twelve hours since she had been back and she had already received the most awful news. 'It cannot get worse,' she thought to herself. Hours became days and days became weeks. Lily seldom went out of her dorm other than the classes. She had stopped attending weekend parties for the fear of not being able to control herself. James was getting restless because Lily had stopped talking to him. He was scared that he might lose her friendship as well. So he wrote a letter to her.

'Dearest Lily,

It has been a long time since we exchanged even a word. I hope I haven't hurt you. I want to talk to you. Please meet me on the astronomy tower tonight at nine-thirty.

James'

Lily was sitting in the heads' dorm when Sirius came in and gave her the letter.

"This one's for you,"

Lily read the letter and looked at Sirius.

"What is it about?" she asked him.

"I don't know,"

"Have you told him that I had a ..er..crush on him?"

"I haven't, I swear,"

Lily hadn't told anybody about this to anyone except Sirius. Sydney and Remus had tried to extricate her feelings out, but Lily never spoke about it. She trusted Sirius and she believed him if he was saying that he hadn't told James anything.

She sat there, confused, when they heard some noises outside. Both of them rushed outside and witnessed a horrific scene. Professor Mary Hopkins was dueling with a person, cloaked in black while there were a few others too, who were asking him to back off. Even his face was covered with black cloth with slits for eyes. Another person, again covered in black, hexed professor Hopkins and she fell to floor.

Sirius promptly took out his wand and ran to follow the people. Meanwhile, Lily rushed to get Professor Dumbledore. Breathless, her hair flowing in all directions, she ran towards the headmaster's office. She found him descending the steps of the gargoyle. Before she could utter a word, professor Dumbledore spoke to her.

"Gather the prefects in my office and give them the emergency commands," He hurried away.

Lily hopped up the steps of the gargoyle and sent for the house head prefects. Very soon, all the head prefects had assembled in the office.

Ayaaz Sheikh, the Ravenclaw head prefect asked, " What is the entire ruckus about?"

Lily explained, " A few people have been seen in the premises of Hogwarts. They haven't been identified nor are their intentions clear. So we need to take precautionary measures. Listen to the orders carefully and inform all the other prefects as well as the students about them. The students have to remain inside their house dormitories and sleep in the common room with all the other students. The prefects should make sure that the students are in discipline and do not indulge in any unruly or harmful behaviour. Nobody should accept anything to eat or drink from anyone except the prefects who, in turn, will get their supply from the house masters. All the students are expected to remain calm,"

In the astronomy tower, unaware of the trouble, James took Lily's absence for a negative reply and quietly returned to his dorm.

All the head prefects nodded and went to their respective houses. Remus patted Lily's back and carried on with his duty. Lily sprinted back to her dorm and found Sirius in front of the fireplace. He was knelt down in front of the flames, his palms on the knees supporting his drooping shoulders. Lily saw a tear trickle down his face and fall inside the golden flames with a spark. Lily had never seen Sirius cry nor had she ever expected to see him cry. She knew something must be terribly wrong.

She went up to him and put her hands on his shoulders, her heart beating with the worry of the impending storm.

"What happened?" Lily murmured.

Sirius was quiet for a long time. The he spoke, " Lucius Malfoy has eloped with five others,"

"Eloped?"

"Yes, to join the death eaters," Sirius breathed hard.

"Shit! Who are the others?"

Sirius was again silent for a long time. Then he revealed the names.

"Austin Lestrange, Bellatrix Black, Narcissa Black, Regulus Black…………." He couldn't carry on further.

Lily sat down next to him and patted his cheek. She knew how he must have felt, watching all his relatives going away to the opposite side of the fence. Half of those who eloped were from Sirius' family and she dreaded the impact it must have had on him. She didn't want to ask him but being a Head girl, she had to know.

"Who was the fifth?"

Sirius looked at her. His eyes were red and from his expression it was clear that he dreaded the answer.

He answered solemnly.

"Severus Snape,"