A/N: Thanks for the great reviews guys! And thanks to my readers who read it but didn't review anyway. Hopefully this chapter will be review worthy as well:D Oh, and one more thing. Alright guys, if there is one thing you have to know about my and my memory, its that it sucks! I can't remember anything, and I apologize for that. Now the reason I'm telling you this is because I forgot Mallory's last name, and I don't remember putting it in any chapters, so for the time being, unless someone tells me what her name was... this is embarrassing... or I find it myself it's going to be O'Neal. Now, have fun! Go read, and don't forget to REVIEW!

Chapter 17

Dumbledore's Office

James woke Lily up the next morning at a quarter passed eight, he brought her breakfast on a tray and they ate the meal up in her room. After showering, dressing and saying goodbye to everyone, James took Lily's arm and they apparated off to Hogwarts.

Meanwhile the rest of the gang decided to head out to Diagon Alley for some breakfast and to get a little shopping done.

XxxxX

With a pop they opened their eyes only to see the magnificent Hogwarts castle standing right before them, looking the same as it had two weeks before.

As they started towards the massive stone building Lily thought of how much her life had changed in a matter of two weeks. It seemed like it had been years, but in reality she and James had been dating for two and a half weeks.

The pebbles lining the path to the castle crunched beneath her feet. She glanced over at James and couldn't help but wonder why he cared for her so much. He was extremely popular and could have any girl, but he chose to chase after her. He had even changed his own personality for her, but why? She knew he loved her, but why did he, what was so special about her?

Lily shifted her attention back to the reason why she was there, since she obviously had no hope of answering her own questions.

James held the door open for Lily with his wand and closed it behind him.

Upon finally reaching Dumbledore's office James knocked on the door lightly. Almost instantly the door swung open on it's worn hinges and they were met by the friendly, yet tired, voice of the Hogwarts Headmaster.

" Good Morning, do have a seat." said Dumbledore pleasantly, not bothering to look up from his writing.

The two mahogany cushioned seats sitting in front of his large desk were filled by James and Lily as he said this. They watched as he rolled his parchment up and stuffed it in a drawer and then shoved his quill into a jar which stood on the corner of his desk.

Dumbledore adjusted his half-moon shaped glasses and placed his hands neatly on his desk, peering at the pair of them with his electric blue eyes.

" Shall we begin, with perhaps your protection plan, Miss Evans?"

Lily sighed, " We don't have much of a choice."

He smiled kindly dismissing her sarcasm.

" Now," Dumbledore started, sighing and resting back into his chair, " as I've already told you before in the letter I sent you, I have strong suspicions that Voldemort was not intending to murder your father. Excuse me by saying this, I know it must be hard and I sympathize but I feel the need to speak of him in this case." he added seeing the pained expression briefly cross her face.

Lily nodded as a signal for him to continue.

" In all my years, never, have I had one of my students been in such a horrifyingly threatening situation as you are in now, Miss Evans. Thus, it is quite difficult for me to come up with a protection plan for you." he paused, looked over towards James and then continued.

" And as much as I so deeply would hate to admit it, I believe Voldemort is also going after you, Mister Potter. Now, I am not entirely sure why he has decided to track Miss Evans, but I believe there is a reason why he may feel the need to go after you."

James stared at him blankly and then slowly asked, " And what would that reason be?"

" Well," he began again slowly, "if I am correct, the Potters have been purebloods for quite some time now." Dumbledore paused and looked at James as if this were a question.

" Yeah, I'm pretty sure all of The potters have been... well, so far that is." he responded.

All of the sudden loud high-pitched chiming sound went off behind them, making both of the students nearly jump out of their chairs. When it had stopped Dumbledore apologized, looking very annoyed.

" Quite sorry about that. It's and old clock of my Grandmother's, it has been going off randomly for some time now... yes, I do need to get that fixed..." added the professor more or less to himself.

" Now, where were we?"

Lily crossed her legs and grinned slightly, holding back the urge to laugh.

" We were talking about James' family tree of purebloods."

The elderly headmaster nodded, and started up again.

" Yes, that's right, as I was saying then. Because you've all been purebloods for such a long period of time, I have a strong feeling that you're related to Godric Gryffindor.

Have either of your parents spoken of this to you before?"

James thought back to three years ago at Christmas. His mother had just left the main family room to retrieve butterbeers for everyone and he and his father were left alone sitting in front of the dazzling Christmas tree. It was then that Harold had spoke up. He explained why it was that everyone knew who the Potters were, it was simple, they were related to Godric Gryffindor. They're family tree went very far back, it was even possible to say that they went back a hundred or so years before Hogwarts was even thought of. Because they were related to them a very old and valuable treasure of his had been passed, generation to generation, and Harold had carefully explained to James how important it was to keep this known to no one but himself and, with caution, his closest friends. Now, James never was told what this 'Treasure' was, he just knew that he was to watch out for those dirty types of people that would do anything to get it. It was very important to everyone in his family, and sometime in the future he was supposed to pass it along to his first born son and continue the line of inheritance, just as Harold and Hannah would do someday to him.

James nodded his head and said, " Yes, but only once."

Dumbledore frowned and didn't say anything for a while. They all sat in silence until the same loud obnoxious chiming went off again. This time Dumbledore found his wand and silenced it immediately. But it continued to vibrate and the small witch kept rebounding from inside the small clock.

" That's exactly what I was afraid of," He looked at Lily, " he's not after you," Dumbledore turned to James again, " Voldemort's coming after you, James, he's using Miss Evans as bait."

His insides froze as his Headmaster spoke those words, this was the worst possible thing that could happen to him, it was the most difficult situation for him to be in. James looked over at Lily, who was rubbing her forehead and muttering to herself. He took her hand and squeezed it gently before letting go and turning back to Dumbledore.

" But, why does he want me?" asked James.

He knew perfectly well he wanted the treasure that had so long ago belonged to Godric, but James was smarter than to just come out and say that. He wanted to make sure this was the true reason before he made any false conclusions.

The aged wizard answered almost immediately, " If I am correct, you have something that once belonged to Godric Gryffindor."

James pursed his lips together and put his head in his hands, " Yes, I do."

" But why me? Why not my mother and father?" asked James, getting increasingly aggravated and angered.

It wasn't that he wanted his mother and father to get killed, that was the last thing he wished to happen. James just didn't understand why it was him that he wanted.

" I am most sorry, but I don't quite know that just yet. It may be simply because they are both in the ministry and you are the younger, more vulnerable, and possibly less challenging target."

James sighed and tried to cool down his bubbling lava-like insides, he felt sick, angry, and a bit light headed all at the same time. How was he supposed to handle this? What would happen to his relationship with Lily? What if he lost her? Questions buzzed through his head and suddenly his entire body was filled with guilt. - Lily's father had been murdered because she was dating him.

James stared blankly in front of him and then looked back at Dumbledore.

" Professor, what do we do?"

He sighed and adjusted his glasses, " For now, until I do more research, you will be put under, Supernus Munimentium, meaning, superior protection. It's a basic, but powerful protection spell. Even the cruciatus curse won't have many effects on you, but Avada Kedavra, or other spells that, perhaps, he has created on his own, will indeed not be blocked." Dumbledore paused and stood up, he walked out from behind his desk and stood in front of them, " Please stand."

Lily and James stood up from their chairs and waited patiently for Dumbledore to continue.

" Please join hands," he commanded quietly.

James looked into Lily's eyes and took her hands, both of their expressions were entirely unreadable neither of them looked calm or nervous for that matter. Dumbledore raised his wand and began making circles above their connected hands.

" Supernus Munimentium!" he shouted as he flicked his wrist.

Two strands of blue and red light twirled upwards towards the tall ceiling of the office. They twisted together and then combined into,one, long purple string of light, and as soon as this happened everything went back to normal.

Lily let out a deep breathe that she didn't know she had been holding back, she shook her head and sat down.

Dumbledore glanced at her and returned to his desk, " Are you feeling alright, Miss Evans?"

James watched with concern as she nodded slowly, her face was a scary ghostly white color and she was breathing oddly. He knew she wasn't alright.

He scooted his chair over closer to hers and took her hand, " Professor, I think she's about to faint! I need water,"

Dumbledore conjured a glass and filled it with water, quickly handing it to James.

He held it up to her mouth and she took a sip, instantly color started to come back into her face.

James sighed out of relief and pushed her hair behind her ear," Are you alright?"

Lily blinked a few times and then laughed lightly, " Er-yes, I...I don't know what came over me. Sorry Professor... Thank you for the water."

" Oh please, Miss Evans don't apologize, I should be the one doing that - I have irresponsibly forgotten to mention the side effects of the spell. It's quite strong you see, and some people pass out from it... although it is a rare occurrence." Dumbledore said sending her an apologetic look.

She shook her head, " No, no, it's fine, really. - I'm fine." Lily added noting that James was still watching her with an uneasy expression.

Lily looked back at Dumbledore and smiled, " Professor, shouldn't we discuss the matter of my father's funeral."

At first Dumbledore looked at her oddly, but then nodded, " Yes, that's right. I knew I was forgetting something... ah, the first thing that goes is your memory... yes, yes."

" Now, where would you like the ceremony to be preformed, Miss Evans?"

" Well, I was hoping it could be done at our old church. We used to go to it when I was younger, it's only about five minutes away from my house and I'm sure my mother would love it if it was done there."

He smiled, " Yes, that sounds wonderful. Did you want only family to attend or were you planning on having all of his friends coming along as well."

Lily thought for a moment, " I want everyone that knew him, my mother and myself to be there, at least, the ones that care."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, " Mister Potter, Mister Black, Mister Lupin, Miss Hemmings, Miss O'Neal, included of course?"

She nodded, " Of course."

The headmaster sighed, smiled and shifted in his seat, " Well, I will have it arranged as soon as possible, is there a specific date you would like to have the ceremony on?"

" His favorite day of the week was Friday, because it was his only day off, so yes, this Friday would be nice." She smiled sadly in memory of her father.

" Friday it is then. Now, if that's is all, I believe I am going to head out for lunch, that is, after I make the arrangements for Friday."

James and Lily stood up from their seats and walked over to the door.

" Thank you for your time, Professor." Said Lily as she walked out the door which was being held open for her.

Professor Dumbledore merely smiled at her and nodded as he took out some parchment and a quill.

XxxxX

Lily and James arrived back at the Mansion to the sight of a note floating in the middle of the entrance room. Lily turned on the lights as James took the note down and read it aloud.

Dear Lovers,

We decided to go to a nearby club for a couple of hours, we won't be back till after dinner, so we'll be home, probably around 6 or so. If you'd like to join us then the address is on the back of this note.

Have fun,

- Us

P.S. No sex on the couch, James, you know your Mum and Dad would disapprove of that!

-Sirius.

Lily laughed once and clenched her jaw, " He has some nerve doesn't he."

James just nodded quickly and swallowed nervously.

She cocked her head at him and smirked, " ... Wait, are you... oh my, ... no! ... you are blushing!"

With her hands on her hips she shook her head and walked up to him still smirking, " I never thought I would see you, Mister James Potter, blushing after something Sirius said... especially when it was about a sexual interaction between you and I."

He cleared his throat and straightened up, his face getting even redder, " I don't know what you're talking about."

James turned and headed towards the kitchen, " Do you want some lunch?"

" Oh, so now you're trying to change the subject! Ha, nice try. That might work on your friends, but I'm your girlfriend, it works differently with me you know."

He sighed and she watched his shoulders droop.

" Okay, so I blushed, big woopdidoo, its not that big of a deal." James said without turning around.

Lily held back a laugh as she saw the back of his neck turn a bit pinker. She walked up to him and looked him in the eyes.

She smiled and placed her hand on his cheek, " James, I love you, don't be so embarrassed... cherry boy," she kissed him softly on the lips and giggled as he kissed her neck.

" You're so mean." he laughed.

Lily smirked, " You know you love it." she turned and walked into the kitchen, " Lunch?"

XxxxX

James and Lily fixed themselves lunch together, they made two chef salads with just about everything under the sun on them. Since it was a nice day out they decided to eat on one of the balconies on the fourth floor. From all the way up there they could see past the hills and tree tops, to the nearby city of Lewes.

" It's beautiful, isn't it?" Asked Lily, as she took a sip of her butterbeer.

James smiled, " It's always beautiful up here, even when its raining."

" Did you come up here often?"

He smiled sadly and nodded, " Yeah, whenever things would get rough between mum and dad, I would walk up here and just watch the trees sway back and forth, it always made me feel better to just be... alone."

Lily ran her hands through her hair and set down her bottle. She stood up and walked up to the railings, resting her head in her hand.

Suddenly out of the blue she said, " Thanks for everything, James."

He put down his butterbeer and furrowed his brow" Er,.. for what?"

Lily turned around and faced him, " For being there for me all this time. You were there for me when I found out, when I had to visit my family, today... and all the times in between. You were there for me during some of the hardest times of my life."

He got up and put his arms around her, " That's not something you need to thank me for."

She looked at him seriously, " Oh, yes it is. There aren't many guys who will put up with a wimpy assed girlfriend, like you have!"

James chuckled loudly, Lily watched as dimples appeared in his cheeks and she smiled to herself, she couldn't have got herself a better boyfriend he was sweet, irresistibly sexy, and innocently cute all at the same time.

" Wimpy assed? You really think you're 'wimpy assed'? Love, you definitely aren't." He shook her and ruffled her hair, " You're the strongest girlfriend I've ever had."

Lily laughed, " Oh, my, you must have had some really wimpy assed girlfriends then!"

" No, not really."

She grinned and shoved him playfully, " But, really thank you."

" There's no need for it." he caressed her cheek softly with his hand his soft chocolate eyes connected with her bright green eyes. " Don't you remember sitting by my side and tending to my every need, whether I really, truly needed it or not, all night long in St. Mungos? You were there for me then, and I'll always be there for you, no matter what."

" But don't you remember why you ended up there? You defended me against Lucius. See you were there for me before anything happened." she brushed his cheeks with her hands and slid them behind his neck.

He smirked at her, getting closer to her face. " Don't you remember why I needed to defend you?"

She shook her head, " Actually, no, you knew it would get you hurt."

" Because I loved you then, and I love you now. And because of that, no matter what time of day, what type of day, what horrible situation you're in, I'll always be there to sweep you off your feet and kill the bad guy, even if it's Voldemort himself... Or at least I'll try. And let me tell you, I'll put up a hell of a fight too."

Lily grinned and paused for a long time, " Why do you have to be so damn... sweet... romantic, whatever it is. I never know what to say back."

He put his lips up to her ear, " You don't have to say anything, just kiss me."

And that's what she did, she turned her head and he did the same. James could feel her smiling into the kiss. James pulled away and kissed her forehead.

Lily flashed him a smile, " I love you."

He kissed her cheek, " And I love you."

XxxxX

They stood together watching the clouds roll by and listening to the birds chirp merrily until the peacefulness was broke, everything grew silent as a large black owl swooped down and perched itself on the railings of the balcony. Even the trees seemed to stop moving.

Lily looked up at James warily, they both were thinking the same exact thing. Last time something like this had happened it had been life changing.

James squeezed her hand comfortingly, " I'll open it."

She nodded, " Read it aloud..."

" Are you sure?"

Lily nodded again and sat down, she didn't want to faint if this time it were her mother that had been murdered.

He looked from Lily to the charcoal colored bird, its eyes were a piercing yellow that made him nervous for no apparent reason. James eyed it carefully as he patted its head and took the parchment from the barrel tied to its leg.

As he unrolled it he sent Lily a reassuring glance.

The writing was slightly slanted, and quite curvy, he almost, for a second, thought it was from Dumbledore, but soon noticed the printing wasn't as neat as Dumbledore's handwriting.

He cleared his throat and read it aloud.

Dear Mister Potter and Miss Evans:

This is a reminder that you will be expected to attend the hearing at the Ministry tomorrow afternoon at 11:30. You are to be there promptly at this time, it is not an option. If you are to be late the hearing will be canceled and you will be immediately found guilty without a trial, you have one chance to prove yourself, so it is highly important that you attend. It will be held in courtroom ten. Directions are enclosed. Once again, you must be there, no excuses.

Sincerely,

Ms. Florence Baggens

Ministry of Magic Secretary.

James didn't know whether to sigh out of relief that no one had died or run in circles worrying about what he was to say at the trial. He looked at Lily, who seemed relieved but at the same time worried to death.

" You don't suppose they sent one to the rest of us, do you?" James asked, pulling the directions sheet from behind the letter.

Lily shrugged, " Well, I would think so."

Without warning they heard a distant crack, then another, and two more, and as soon as that was silenced they could hear their names being screamed out by their four friends.

James sighed, " I guess that answers our question."

A/N: Alright, the next one will be about... you guessed it, the hearing. Sorry for the wait once again, and for the length, the next one should be longer! Thanks for reading. Please Review !

Lissa