Lily woke early and saw the beginnings of dawn peeking through the curtains. James dozed beside her, the covers thrown back to expose his bare torso. She admired him for a moment, watching the rise and fall of his chest and the peaceful expression on his face, then set to work taking the suggestion he had made last night. He didn't stay asleep for very long.
Afterwards her mind whirled as she showered and put on her creased funeral dress that she had tossed onto the floor yesterday. For the past week she had been in a sort of limbo, unable to see anything beyond the confines of her grief, but now she was itching to get back out there and do something. She had wasted so much time already – what had she missed while she was moping on the couch, picking listlessly at pieces of toast and stroking Duncan's head? Then there was the wedding to think about… Her body vibrating with nervous energy, she hurried down the stairs as she made a mental list of tasks she wanted to accomplish this week.
"The Prophet already came?" James asked when he came back from his run and found her sitting at the kitchen table, absorbed in the newspaper.
"It's yesterday's," she said without looking up. "I've missed a whole week of news. Harold Minchum could've resigned, and I'd have no idea."
James chuckled and sat down beside her. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you that he hasn't resigned, although today's newspaper hasn't arrived yet, so I suppose there's still hope."
She sighed and turned a page. "I hate feeling like I don't know what's going on. And now we've got the wedding to think about. And I– Oh God, I missed an Order meeting!"
"I would've said if there was anything noteworthy in the Prophet. And I already told you, the meeting wasn't anything important. All the same arseholes going in and out of the buildings we're watching, Ministry people being just as dodgy, werewolves are werewolfing but still aren't sure about joining us–"
"Don't let Remus hear you say the word 'werewolfing,'" Lily said, giggling. "I just need to get back to it. It'll make me feel normal again – or whatever normal means these days."
"I understand. Just don't try to solve the world's problems all at once. You tend to do that." He smiled as a house elf brought in a tray of toast and jam. "Thanks, Twinkletoes. Alright, if you insist on rushing back to work, you're going to have a decent breakfast first."
"You know I hate being told what to do," she mumbled, but she took a piece of toast and began covering it with strawberry jam. The relieved smile on James's face was almost worth letting him boss her around.
They were back at the flat changing out of their funeral clothes when the Daily Prophet arrived. Lily paused halfway through putting on her shoes and grabbed the paper, then took one look at the front page and swore. Her eyes flew over the paper and her hand clenched as she sank back down onto the couch to read.
"What?" James called from the bedroom, pulling his shirt over his head as he hurried over to her.
"They've arrested the weird neighbors," Lily said, jabbing at the headline with a shaking finger. "Fucking Harold Minchum and his idiot fucking henchman Crouch. They're so desperate to look like they're halfway competent, even if it means throwing innocent people in Azkaban."
Her tirade wouldn't have made sense to most people, but James gave a resigned sigh, indicating he had deciphered her incoherent ranting. The "weird neighbors" were a middle-aged couple called the Hortons who had been reported to the Death Eater investigation squad by their neighbors for suspected Death Eater involvement. The Prophet had featured several articles on the subject, detailing the couple's unusual behavior, including coming and going at odd hours, entertaining strange guests, and making suspicious noises in the middle of the night. They're swingers, Sirius had said, smirking. They're just nutters, James had argued. Up until this point, the Ministry had dismissed the suspicion as paranoia or a simple neighborly feud, but new evidence had led to the arrest of the unfortunate couple.
"'Proof of correspondence with known Death Eaters,'" James read, running a hand through his hair. "Well, that sounds pretty damning…"
"I'll bet you anything it's one of those recruitment letters Padfoot got," Lily said, fury filling her body with restless energy. "It's not bloody correspondence if it's one-sided. I'm telling you, this is bollocks. These people are uncooperative and strange, and I'll bet they don't maintain their lawn, either. The neighbors who reported them are just stirring up shit, and the Ministry is trying to make people believe they're doing something useful."
"And what do you think we should do about it, Evs?" James asked, touching her shoulder. Could he feel the rage coursing through her body, thrumming under her skin and emanating from her in waves?
"How do you know I want to do something about it?" she demanded, wondering if he was patronizing her.
"Because you always want to do something about it," James said evenly. "You think any form of injustice is your personal responsibility to fix. And while I think that's way too much responsibility for one person, I'm on board anyway, because I love you. So, what do you think we should do about it?"
The earnest adoration on his face made her want to drop everything and snog him, but there was no time for that – her mind wouldn't let her stop until she had at least attempted to fix the blatant injustice staring her in the face. Settling for a brief squeeze of his hand, she took a deep breath and shuffled her whirling thoughts into some semblance of order.
"You'll see Caradoc when patrols switch, won't you? See what his lot are planning, because they're not going to just sit by and watch, but they're going to be in danger if they try to do anything about it – we should offer them some protection, if Dumbledore will authorize it. And ask Frank if he knows why they ended up arresting them after all this time. And maybe…" She fell silent as she felt James's eyes on her, and a small smile cut through her frenzied monologue. "What?
James grinned and shook his head. "I love it when you're intense like this. I wish the rest of the Order could see you right now – it'd shake everybody up, improve morale, you know?"
She turned this over in her head, then Summoned parchment, ink, and quill, and began scrawling a letter. "You're right," she said, spattering her thumb with ink in her haste to scribble her message. "We need an emergency Order meeting. I'm going to ask Dumbledore to call one."
"What's this about an emergency Order meeting?" Sirius asked, scowling as he emerged from his bedroom with Mary behind him. "It's not tonight, is it? I have big plans tonight."
Mary laughed as she shook out her untidy curls. "Black, you said you wanted to get takeaway and eat it in bed tonight."
"Those are our big plans!" Sirius insisted before bending to inspect the newspaper Lily had discarded. "Oh, look, they've arrested Mr. and Mrs. Swinger…"
Much to Sirius's dismay, the emergency Order meeting was held that night. Everyone cast curious, concerned glances at Lily, but she returned their looks with calm determination. She didn't want their sympathy – she wanted them to take her seriously.
Caradoc began with a report about how "his lot" were handling the news. "His lot" was a group of mostly young witches and wizards who opposed the Death Eaters and supported Muggle rights, but didn't approve of the more revolutionary, violent methods of achieving their aims. At one point, Caradoc had been heavily involved in the group, but he had joined the Order in hopes of enacting real change. He was still in frequent contact with a few of the more involved members, and he had spent the past few months trying to recruit them. So far, he had not had much success, although it had been useful to know what the group was up to, and the Order had collaborated with them on several occasions.
"They're organizing a big protest," Caradoc said, rubbing the scruffy hair that covered his chin. "To try and convince the Ministry to let the Hortons go – fat lot of good that'll do."
It'll be a perfect opportunity for an attack, Lily thought, remembering the big protest last year organized by the same group. The Death Eaters had killed six people during that protest, including James's former Quidditch teammate. James's jaw still tightened every time he mentioned her name.
"I think if we send some of our people to help out if things get dicey, a few of them might consider joining us," Caradoc continued. "They've suffered a lot of losses over the past year. I think they're getting frustrated with the lack of progress. So even if we could just spare a couple of people for the protest on Friday, I think it would be worth it in the long run."
Dumbledore steepled his hands in front of his face as he considered the information.
"I'll do it," Lily blurted, eliciting startled looks from half of the members.
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows, looking interested rather than surprised. He peered at her over the top of his glasses and tilted his chin, and when he didn't speak, she continued.
"I'd like to help guard the protest," she said, fighting to keep her voice even. "Frank and Moody can guard the cottage in Yorkshire, or it can go unguarded for a day, because they might be needed at the protest, too. We'd be stupid not to expect an attack like last time. And they're getting bolder – attacking people in broad daylight, showing up at any big gathering, trying to stir up fear and hysteria any way they can. We've got to be ready for them."
She fell silent, breathless as she waited for Dumbledore's response. It felt, absurdly, like waiting for a teacher to judge her response on a homework assignment. Outstanding-level argument, Miss Evans, she imagined Dumbledore saying, but then she pushed the thought aside. This is nothing like school. If I make a mistake, I can't just rewrite the essay or practice the spell. If I make a mistake now, people die.
"Alright," Dumbledore said, inclining his head. "Lily is on it, but we'll need a few more."
"We'll do it," James said, reaching for Lily's hand and giving it a squeeze. "Sirius and I will be back by then – put us on it. And you may as well throw Remus, Peter, and Mary in, too – they won't want to miss out on the fun."
Dumbledore considered this for a moment, then shrugged and nodded. "I think we should have a few more, so we can surround the perimeter and we'll have reserves if anyone goes down. Frank, it would be good to have you and Alice there, but you might want to think about a disguise."
"I'll go Polyjuiced," Frank said, grinning. "But I'm going as someone ugly this time. Last time I was that big dark-haired bloke, Marlene kept trying it on with me."
The conversation continued on as Lily glanced sideways at James and flashed him a grateful smile.
"You didn't expect me to let you have all the fun, did you?" he whispered, returning her smile.
She shifted in her seat so their legs touched, grateful for the opportunity to jump back into action and for James's unflagging willingness to do whatever it took.
James watched Lily all week, bracing to find her slumped on the couch every time he returned home after a long day of patrols. Instead, she paged through potions books and scribbled down notes, or sat beside her cauldron as the fragrant steam dampened her hair and warmed her face, or scoured the Daily Prophet as a grim frown creased her face. She rose earlier than usual, using the extra time to make plans for the day or squeeze in a bit of extra potions research, or once, to James's surprise, to join him for his morning run. He rarely saw her sleep – he would drift off before her, and sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night to find her staring at the ceiling or reading by the light of her wand. "I'm fine," she told him over and over. "I'm just restless. There's so much to do." Most of the time he preferred her incessant motion to the dull, listlessness of her sofa days, but sometimes when she had finally collapsed into bed and fell into a deep sleep, he wondered just how long she could keep this up. You can't save the world single-handedly, Evs, he thought as he kissed her cheek and settled in beside her.
The day of the protest was clear and cold, with the occasional snowflake drifting down and clinging to his hair. Lily had been up since dawn, checking and rechecking the plans for the protest until James plucked the parchment from her fingers and slipped it into his pocket.
"It's as good as it's going to be, Evs," he said, sliding a mug of coffee and a plate of toast in front of her. "Eat your breakfast and try not to worry." He watched until she took a bite of her toast, noticing her bright eyes and flushed cheeks.
The protest would take place on the steps in front of Gringotts. The group had applied for a permit to protest inside the Ministry of Magic atrium, but had been denied and had chosen this location as the next best choice for optimal visibility. There was already a crowd forming, even though the protest wasn't set to start for another hour. People milled around or sat on the marble steps, clutching cardboard signs emblazoned with slogans like FREE THE HORTONS and DIFFERENT DOES NOT MEAN DEATH EATER! Confused and interested shoppers slowed to read the signs and cast curious glances at the protesters.
Sirius and James were posted beside Madam Malkin's robe shop, while Lily and Mary were assigned to the alley next to the magical menagerie. James kissed Lily goodbye, his arms lingering around her until Sirius cleared his throat and the girls drifted off to the assigned spot.
"It's good Evans is guarding a different spot," Sirius said as he lit a cigarette and leaned back against the shop. "You'd spend the whole time watching her and wouldn't notice if a Death Eater smacked you on the arse and called you sweetheart."
"Hey, only you're allowed to do that," James said, grinning and eying the pack of cigarettes until Sirius offered him one. "I'm just worried about her." He watched Lily weave through the crowd, the crisp winter wind tugging on her hair and whipping her scarf around.
Sirius shrugged and zipped his jacket up to his chin. "She seems to have snapped out of it. Good thing, too, because the sofa cushions were starting to form a Lily Evans-shaped imprint."
James took a drag on his cigarette and didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on Lily until she and Mary disappeared out of sight behind the large sign advertising the Kneazles, Krups, and snakes that could be bought at the magical menagerie. I hope Padfoot's right, he thought, remembering the manic glint in Lily's eyes over the past week.
Frenzied excitement crackled in the air as more people turned up for the protest. The Gringotts goblins appeared periodically to shoo off the protestors, but the sign-carrying witches and wizard shifted aside with good-natured smiles, then returned to the stairs as soon as the goblins had disappeared inside the bank.
"There's Doc," Sirius said, nodding at one of the lower steps. "And Marlene and… I suppose that must be Frank, Polyjuiced."
In front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Marlene was giggling and leaning against a woman who looked remarkably like Vernon Dursley's unfortunate sister. Apparently Marlene was undeterred by Frank's disguise; James watched her reach around and pinch his arse, causing the older couple behind them to widen their eyes in scandalized surprise. A little further down, Remus and Peter were stationed between a stationary shop and the entrance to Knockturn Alley, and over by Eyelops he spotted Gideon Prewett and Mundungus Fletcher. His body hummed with anticipation, and it took all of his self-control to stand still without bouncing on his heels or tossing something from hand to hand.
By the time the protest officially started, Sirius and James had each smoked two more cigarettes, and they had cast a warming charm to keep their fingers from going numb. James stood with his hand jammed into his pocket, clutching his wand as he scanned the area. His eyes lingered on the various people lining the street: a leather jacket-clad man hoisting a large sign into the air; a person of unknown gender emerging from Eyelops, draped in a hooded jacket and clutching a bulging bag; a pair of giggling girls jostling past him to enter Madam Malkin's. His nerves jangled as he tried to keep an eye on the entire street while also monitoring the area where Lily lurked out of sight.
"Free the Hortons!" someone shouted through a magical megaphone, the chant echoed by the crowd and repeated until the words blended together. James's fingers twitched inside his pockets. Now someone else climbed onto the topmost step and began urging the gathered wizards to move for prison reform.
"If Evans hadn't joined us," Sirius muttered, grinding out his latest cigarette under his boot, "she would've joined this lot for sure. Couldn't you see her holding a sign and chanting with the rest of them?"
"She'd look cute holding one of those signs," James said, but his attention was diverted by a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. There's movement everywhere, he chided himself. It's a street full of people. You're just being paranoid. But he couldn't shake the feeling of unease as he leaned past Sirius to glance down the street.
"What?" Sirius asked, his hand darting automatically to his wand. "Do you see something?"
"I dunno…" James's gaze lingered on the hooded Eyelops customer who had now been joined by a second figure in a woolen hat and scarf. They wended their way through the street's occupants, stopping to examine a display of magical instruments in a shop window before crossing the street and heading toward Gringotts. "I don't like the look of those two." He nodded at the two people; they had stopped beside the crowd of protesters and were digging through the Eyelops bag.
"What, them?" Sirius gave a dismissive shrug. "They're just shopping."
"Yeah, I suppose…" James turned away and switched to marking a group of people making their way toward Quality Quidditch Supplies. The minutes dragged by as the magical megaphone changed hands and a man began proclaiming the importance of peaceful resistance against the Death Eater agenda. Peaceful isn't always an option, James thought, his hand returning to the handle of his wand.
A flurry of shrieks rent the air, and James whirled, pulling his wand from his pocket. The group of protestors scattered, stumbling down the steps and pushing their way along the street, while a few remained behind to cluster around two prone, crumple figures splayed out across the ground. James lurched forward, his wand brandished in front of him, but Sirius grabbed his arm and dragged him back.
"Hang on," he said, holding up his own wand as he took in the chaos enfolding in front of them. "We don't even know where the attack came from."
James froze and scanned the crowd, watching panic spread as the shoppers realized what was happening. A middle-aged woman pushed past him on her way out of the shop, her bag knocking into his back as more screams erupted following the collapse of another protester.
"There!" Marlene shouted, pointing at the narrow space between Gambol & Japes and the magical menagerie.
"Come on," James said, jogging down the street and dodging past confused, frightened shoppers. He could hear Sirius running behind him as he stared ahead, his eyes fixed on the magical menagerie. Evans is over that way, he thought, urging his legs to move faster. There were more cries as the attacker took out an unfortunate customer heading for Eyelops. James's hair stirred as a spell shot past him – from Frank's direction, or perhaps it had come from Remus or Peter.
"On the roof, Prongs," Sirius panted, darting sideways to avoid a spell.
James looked up and spotted a figure crouching on the roof of the magical menagerie, a Disillusionment Charm making them blend in with the gray thatching that covered the roof. Another spell whizzed past James's shoulder, and then James began shooting spells back at the rooftop figure – no, there were two of them, James realized as he slashed his wand through the air to block another spell. He and Sirius stood shoulder to shoulder in front of Beatrice's Beauty Potions, firing off spells and lurching sideways to avoid attacks until one of their spells hit its mark. One of the figures fell forward, toppling over the edge of the roof, plummeting to the ground, landing with a sickening crunch.
There was no time to look at Sirius, no time to wonder whose spell it had been, no time to verify that it had indeed been only a Stunner and nothing more sinister, because there were now spells flying from behind them, and James heard a high-pitched scream that sounded like Lily. He hurtled into the alley, ignoring Sirius's protests as he avoided another curse and skidded to a stop.
"What are you doing?" Lily shouted. Sweat glazed her forehead and her hair was pulling free of her ponytail; beside her, Mary's face was a mask of concentration as she shot one spell after another at the remaining figure on the roof.
"Fuck!" Mary said, kicking the wall in a fit of frustration. "He Disapparated – bloody coward."
"The others have left, too," Remus said, coming to a stop behind them. Peter and Sirius joined him, and behind them James could see Marlene and Gideon and the others.
James's limbs were suddenly weak as he reached for Lily and pulled her into a hug.
"I thought…" he began, burying his face in her hair.
"I'm fine, James." She squeezed his hand before pulling away and wiping the sweat from her forehead. "We should secure the area – make sure they're really gone."
"Someone should go check on Doc," Marlene said, her face grim. "One of the victims – that woman making the speech earlier – she was his friend, the one he was trying to recruit."
"We got one of the fuckers on the roof," Sirius said, gesturing over at the broken figure on the ground. "He's definitely dead – I checked."
"The Aurors are showing up," Frank said, his voice oddly high and breathy in his Polyjuiced form. "James and Sirius – you should get out of here, before they start asking questions about that body."
"We should all go," Remus said, grabbing Lily's hand before she could dart away to do a scan of the perimeter. "That's what Dumbledore wanted."
James nodded, unable to speak, then turned on the spot and Disapparated to the flat. He stood in the living room, gazing at Lily as she slipped out of her coat and collapsed onto the couch, until Sirius thrust a glass of firewhisky into his hand.
"Cheer up – we got one of them," he said, clapping James on the back.
"Two," Remus said, his voice hollow and hoarse. "I got one, too. They came out of Knockturn Alley and got that girl coming out of Eyelops. I only stunned him, but the crowd trampled him…" He winced and shook his head.
"Well, shit." Sirius handed Remus a drink, then draped his arm around Mary and raised his glass into the air. "To Moony."
James gulped his drink, relishing the burn as it warmed his throat. Over and over he saw the Death Eater fall from the roof and heard the crunch followed by Lily's frightened shriek. The rest of the evening passed in a blur: Marlene showed up later to toss back a glass of firewhisky and update them on the situation in front of Gringotts, and they all sat around reliving the more exciting moments of the protest until the Ogden's ran out and they all filtered off to bed. James kissed Lily goodnight and promised to join her in a moment, then wandered onto the balcony to smoke a last cigarette with Sirius in the bracing evening air.
"You alright, Prongs?" Sirius asked, leaning against the railing and scrutinizing James's expression in the dim light filtering out from the flat. "You look a bit…" He shrugged and exhaled a stream of smoke into the bitter air.
"Yeah." James watched the smoke from his cigarette curl into the night as he thought about the Death Eater's jacket fluttering before he had hit the ground. "I was just thinking… Was it your spell or mine that hit the Death Eater on the roof?"
Sirius slid onto the ground and leaned against the railing as he looked at James. "Honestly, I have no fucking idea. And it doesn't really matter, because both of us were aiming for him. Both of us used Stunning Spells. If he was dumb enough to stand on the edge of a fucking roof, that's not our fault. And in case you forgot, he was standing up there so he'd have easier access to pick off innocent people, so taking him out probably saved a few lives." He flicked a piece of ash onto the ground and shook his head. "Don't waste a single second worrying about it. We did exactly what we were supposed to do today."
The wind bit through James's jumper as he blew out a mouthful of smoke and thought about the Death Eater's flailing arms.
"Yeah, you're right." He took a final drag, then ground out the cigarette and heaved himself to his feet. "I'm going to bed. It's bloody freezing out here."
When he crawled into bed and Lily reached for him, he considered confessing all of his half-formed worries. Her soothing fingers kneaded his tight muscles, easing the tension he had been holding all day. It would be so easy to tell her everything, to unburden himself of the sick weight in his stomach…
"I'm so glad we made it out okay," Lily murmured, her warm breath tickling his neck. "I know it was bad, but it would've been so much worse if we hadn't been there."
The words caught in James's throat, burning like bile until he forced them back down again.
"Yeah," he choked out, focusing on the motion of her hands rather than the sound of the Death Eater's body hitting the ground that kept echoing in his head.