And here's Lily's detention!

Lily Luna Potter slowly walked down the stairs from the Great Hall. She looked up at the dark and starry night and shook her head, wondering how she had gotten into this mess.

She thought about her earlier Herbology class with Professor Longbottom, her parents' old friend. She accidentally let a mandrake loose and nearly took out half the class. But really, it wasn't her fault.

Okay, so she should've been paying attention to Professor Longbottom when he was speaking, but she would have preferred that he took points away from Gryffindor rather than sending her to Hagrid to serve detention in the Forbidden Forest. She wasn't even completely sure that she knew what kind of herbs and plants he needed. Or why he needed.

But here she was, a fifth-year Gryffindor prefect, on her way to serve detention.

She carefully stepped down the stairs and headed towards Hagrid's hut. It grew darker and darker and Lily shivered in the cool air, wishing she had worn a cloak. She knocked on the door and waited for Hagrid to come out.

"Hagrid?" she called. "Are you there? It's me, Lily. I have to serve-"

"-detention fer Professor Longbottom?" Hagrid said, opening the door. He grinned at her as he stepped outside and shut door. He started heading toward the Forbidden Forest. "You Potters do have yer fair share o' detentions, don't yeh?"

Lily furrowed her brow as she walked faster to keep up with his pace. "I don't have that many detentions. And I don't think Al had even one detention. But James...I could see that he had his fair share of detentions."

Hagrid laughed. "Not to mention yer father and yer grandfather!"

"Dad? He had a lot of detentions?"

"Don't tell 'im I told yeh, Lily. He won' be happy with that, no, he won'."

Lily smirked to herself. She had never known that her father was stuck in detention a lot. Since she's entered her fifth year, she's begun to study about the Battle of Hogwarts in History of Magic. Of course, she didn't pay attention as closely as she could have, but her parents and her aunts and uncles lived through it, so why can't she just ask them? But she's begun to learn of Voldemort and her own father, Harry Potter. She couldn't imagine her father being anything like the person Professor Binns talked about in his lectures.

For instance, her father was fairly strict on her and her brothers. Mostly on her, but she believed that was because she was the youngest and the only girl. The Harry Potter that she was learning about broke many rules and even a few laws. Her father would never dream of breaking the rules.

Also, her father worked for the Ministry of Magic. So, why would he spearhead an underground army of students, of all people?

"Here we are, Lily," Hagrid said, stopping in front of the Forbidden Forest. He took a step in and Lily closely followed. When they reached a fork in the forest, he looked at her. "Will yeh be all righ' if yeh wen' tha' way an' I wen' this?" He gestured in two different directions. "If not, we'll stay together."

Lily shook her head in defiance. "I'm not a baby, Hagrid. I'm not afraid of the Forest. I'll go this way."

Hagrid smiled underneath his beard. "All righ', Lily. If yeh need help, raise yer wand to signal me with red sparks."

Lily nodded confidently and headed down one end.

"Lumos," she whispered. She held her wand out in front of her, on the lookout for the plants that she needed to pull for Professor Longbottom. "Honestly," she thought. "Can't Professor Longbottom pick his own plants?"

She saw what she needed and bent down, using a knife that Hagrid had given her to cut out the plants that she needed. She heard a rustle behind her and suddenly stood up, holding her wand out before her.

She was scared, afraid at what she couldn't see. But she thought about the stories that she had heard from her older brothers, her uncles, and even a couple from her father. She was in Gryffindor, she wasn't going to back down!

"Who's there?" she called.

"You are the daughter of Harry Potter," a voice said in return.

"Yeah, so?" Lily looked defiant. "What's it to you?"

A centaur emerged from the shadows of the forest. It was followed closely by two others. It looked closely at Lily. She felt her heart beating in her chest, but she refused to look away from him.

"Nothing," he said.

"Come, Bane," the other centaur said. "We must go."

"All right, Ronan." He looked up. "The moon is exceptionally bright tonight."

With a swish of their tails, the three centaurs disappeared into the night, leaving Lily alone once again. She was a bit sorry after they had gone; she didn't really like being alone in the Forest. She shuddered, remembering her uncle telling her about acromantulas, giant spiders.

Lily held her wand out, looking for the right way to go. She had already gathered up the plants and herbs and figured that Professor Longbottom had gotten as much as she could carry. She waved it around, trying to see further, and caught her eye on something curious on the Forest floor.

"What's that?" she asked aloud. She carefully set down the plants and picked up, taking note of the strange markings on the face of a stone. She looked at it carefully. "These are the same markings in that book that Aunt Hermione used to read to us."

She closed her fist around it and opened her hand once again. She looked closely at it and held her wand higher. She conjured up a basket and placed the plants in it. Lily looked into the sky, taking note of the brightness of the moon that the centaurs pointed out just a few moments earlier. She unconsciously turned the stone over, three times in her hand and froze when she heard a rustling in the woods around her.

"Hello?" she called. "Hagrid? Erm...Bane? Ronan?"

There was no response.

"Anybody?"

"My dear child, we are here!"

Lily looked around. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw who was speaking to her.

"Um...Albus Dumbledore...sir?"

"Yes, dear child, yes!"

Dumbledore grinned and his blue eyes seemed to twinkle in the night's skies. He spread his arms out and motioned around him.

"It's nice to see you, dear Lily."

Lily stared at Dumbledore with wide, stricken eyes. She was speechless and opened and shut her mouth several times.

"If you have something to say, spit it out!" A playful voice emerged near her.

She whirled around and saw her Uncle George with two ears.

"Erm...Uncle Fred?"

"What? No, I'm George!"

Lily's eyes widened even more.

Fred laughed, seeing her reaction. "Just kidding, of course it's Fred."

"You know, that's not as funny when one of you is dead," replied a new voice.

Lily looked upon him. She recognized him, from old photos, yes, but mostly because she saw his eyes almost every day of her young life, prior to Hogwarts.

"...um...are you...you are Teddy's father!"

Remus Lupin grinned. "Yes. Yes, I am. And I do have to thank you and your family for so graciously welcoming him into your family."

"I think he was a part of it before I was even born."

Remus smiled. "You have given him a family that I could never have dreamed of. Thank you for being his family."

"And now we're really family! He and Victoire are to be married!"

Remus grinned. "I know. And I will be there on that day, standing beside him every step of the way."

Lily's brow furrowed. She looked around. "What...what are you all doing here, anyway? Aren't you all...well...dead?"

Fred looked surprised and looked at his hand. "Dead? That's news to me!"

"Me too!" came a new voice. "Who would have imagined that, eh?"

Lily turned to look at the new voice. "Oh...and you're..."

"Sirius. Nice to meet you, Lils."

"I hate that nickname."

"I know. Your grandmother hated it, too."

She tried to give him a little smile. "I don't understand. What are you doing here? All of you?"

"Thought we'd pay you a little visit, didn't we?" Sirius grinned as he looked around at Remus, Fred, and Dumbledore. "Check on Harry's daughter serving detention in the Forbidden Forest."

"Sirius, stop antagonizing my granddaughter."

Lily turned at the new voice. She smiled a little as she gazed upon the sight of her father. Looking closely, she noticed that his eyes were brown while her father's was green. "Grandfather James?"

He threw a sideways glance at Sirius. "Look. She recognizes me."

"Recognized me first."

Remus shook his head at their short argument.

"Well," said Fred, interrupting them. "It's nice to see that one of my nieces has her head on straight. What did Ron think, eh, of little Rosie being top of the class and never receiving any detentions?"

Liliy looked a little surprised. "Um...I don't know...she's older than me..."

"Well, I'm glad you've got a streak for rule-breaking."

Lily smiled a bit. "Well, it's nothing on my brother, but..."

At this moment, James, Sirius, and Remus burst out laughing.

"James did rather take after his grandfather in that department," Dumbledore said, gesturing to her grandfather.

"I'm so glad he stole the Invisibility Cloak," Sirius said.

"And the Map!" exclaimed Fred.

"Good kids, you all are," replied James with a grin. "Great kids."

"Yes." A new voice entered their conversation. A different voice; a woman's voice.

Lily turned around and saw her. Her namesake, her grandmother. Tears unexpectedly filled her eyes. "Grandmother Lily?" she asked, her voice choking in her throat.

"Yes," she said again. She smiled warmly and stood in front of her granddaughter. "You look just like your mother."

"But with your hair."

Lily laughed. "I love you. We all love you."

"I love you too, grandmother." She looked around. "I wish...I wish I could've really gotten to know you. I wish you were real. This is probably all happening in my head, but...I wish that you were all here with me."

The shadows of the people around her all smiled. They were interrupted by a loud coughing.

"If that's you, Snape, come out here and show your face," James called. He looked at his wife and smiled. "Come and meet my granddaughter."

Lily turned and saw a familiar-looking man emerge from the darker shadows. He had long hair and seemed to glide toward. He stopped in front of her and nodded. "Young Lily."

Her eyes widened. "H-h-h-hi..." For some reason, she was nervous. She wasn't sure she liked how he was staring at her. Like his eyes were boring into her soul.

For a long time, they did not speak. They just stood, staring at each other.

"You are very much like your grandmother."

"T-t-t-thank you." She stole a quick glance at her grandmother, who offered her a warm smile.

"I...we're learning about you in History of Magic...sir...you are...er-were...a very brave man."

Snape looked away. He gave her quick nod.

Lily could hear Hagrid yelling her name in the distance. She opened her mouth to speak. "Um...I...I think I have to go...but I don't want to. I want to stay here with you. I want to learn more."

"No." Her grandfather shook his head. "Go back to the school, Lily."

"Am I going crazy?" she asked. "You guys aren't alive." She looked down, talking to reassure herself. "This is just happening in your head, Lily. You didn't really just say that you wanted to stay here with a bunch of dead people." She closed and opened her eyes, still seeing the people before her. "Should I ask my mum to reserve a room in St. Mungo's?"

Dumbledore smiled gently. "You are not crazy, dear child. Yes, this is happening in your head, but who's to say that it's not real?"

In a split second, she dropped the stone from her hand, jumping at the sound of Hagrid's booming voice. At once, the figures of her grandparents, Sirius, Remus, Fred, Dumbledore, and Snape all disappeared.

"All righ' there, Lily?" Hagrid asked, looking down at her, concerned.

She looked up at him, speechless. Lily looked around quickly, trying to sneak a peek at one of the people who were standing there just moments ago.

"Lily? Are yeh all righ'"

She nodded, still not speaking.

"Erm...I'm jus' gonna call yer brother to come down." He waved his pink umbrella and something quick and silver flew from it, toward the castle. He picked up the plants that she gathered and firmly grasped her small arm in his giant hand, leading her out of the Forest. "Come on, Lily. 'S not far."

A few moments later, they emerged from the Forest. They stopped by Hagrid's hut and dropped off the plants there. Hagrid said that he would give it to Professor Longbottom in the morning.

"Now where is tha' brother of yers?"

He glanced toward the castle and saw a figure hurrying toward them.

"Hagrid!" he called, running toward the hut when he saw his sister. His cloak billowed behind him. "What happened? Lily, are you all right?"

Al took his cloak off and wrapped it around his sister. She looked at him with wide eyes and nodded. He furrowed his brow for a second and glanced at Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid," he said, firmly grasping his sister's arm where Hagrid's had been. "I've got it from here."

"D'yeh wan' me to walk yer up to the castle?"

Al shook his head. "No. I've got it." He gestured down to the prominent badge on his chest. "I'm Head Boy. I think I can handle it," he added with a wry smile.

She slowly let her brother lead her away, toward the castle. Silently, they slowly walked up the stairs and headed for the Gryffindor common room. For once, it was empty and Al led Lily to a comfy chair beside the warm fire and forced her to sit down.

"Kreacher!" he called out.

At once, Kreacher appeared from thin air.

"Can you feth a butterbeer for Lily, please? She's feeling a little distressed at the moment."

Kreacher bowed and disappeared. He reappeared a moment later, with a tray of two butterbeers and a plate full of Cauldron Cakes. "Master Albus, Mistress Lily. Would you also like a shepherd's pie? There is some leftover in the Hogwarts kitchens."

"No thanks, Kreacher," replied Al. "Don't tell father about this. And call me Al!"

Kreacher bowed again and disappeared.

"Lil?" Al asked, taking a butterbeer and pushing it into Lily's hand. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"Do you think people can come back from the dead?"

"No. I know that for a fact. People can't come back from the dead."

"Why are there ghosts, then?"

"Those are people that...that are still tied to this world. That haven't moved on."

"Do you think Grandfather James and Grandmother Lily and Uncle Fred and Sirius and Remus...do you think they would have moved on?"

Al furrowed his brow, wondering where this was coming from. He looked out the window at the Forbidden Forest, a vivid memory returning to him. "Did you see them, Lil? Our grandparents, Uncle Fred, Sirius, Remus...Dumbledore and Snape?"

Lily nodded her head with fear in her eyes. "Am I going crazy?"

Al shook his head. "No. But we have much to discuss, little sister." He grinned. "I should send for Kreacher to retrieve more Cauldron Cakes for us, no?" He threw a handful of Floo powder into the Gryffindor fireplace.

"Al! We're not allowed-"

Al waved her off. "Never mind that."

"What! You always follow the rules! You've never even gotten a detention!"

Al smiled. "James Sirius Potter!" he yelled into the fire. He turned back to his sister. "I have, actually gotten a detention. Just one. In my fifth year, too. And...let's just say...it was interesting to say the least."

"What?" asked James. His head poked through the fire.

"Can you get here tonight?"

"Al-why?"

"Lily just got out of detention."

"Yeah, so? She gets detention. It's you who doesn't get detention."

"No, James. Lily just had detention. With Hagrid. In the Forbidden Forest."

Lily rolled her eyes at her brothers. "What does it matter?"

A look of comprehension passed over James' eyes. "Ah, I see it now. I'll get there right away."

"How?" asked Lily. "It's late, it's after curfew."

"Easy," answered James. "I'll Apparate to Hogsmeade and come in that way."

"But it's after curfew."

"That's all right, I have my ways. Al, keep a lookout for me on the Map, please."

Al nodded. "I will. Hey, James, do you think we should tell Dad about this?"

James smiled slyly. "Yes. But in some ways, I think he already knows."

"Didn't you tell him?"

"I was about to, but Uncle Ron interrupted me, telling us again of how he spoke Parseltongue that one time! Honestly, one time!"

Lily looked between her brothers, wondering what they were talking about. "I don't have time for games. I'm going to bed."

"No!" her brothers both called.

"Well, what do you want me to do?"

"I'll be there in about 15 minutes!" said James. He withdrew his head with a pop.

"What is he talking about?" Lily demanded from Al.

"You'll see when he gets here."

"How is he going to get here? It's after curfew! He can't come in till morning!"

"He has his ways." Al pulled out an old parchment from his pocket. He tapped it and whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." At once, lines drew on it and Lily watched it in wonder.

"What...what is that?" She reached out for it, but Al withdrew it from her hand.

"Patience, young Lily. You'll see it in a moment."

"What's going on!"

"Lily, you've just been initiated into the family. Welcome."

Lily furrowed her brows in anger. "What are you talking about?"

Al grinned. He gestured at the Map. "Wow, James is faster than expected. He's coming up to the common room riiiiiiiight now..." Al walked over to the painting and opened it from the inside.

James walked inside. "Hey, Lily. So, I hear you had a detention tonight?" He grabbed a butterbeer from the tray and took a long swig. "It just so happens that young Al and I had a similar detention. In our fifth-year, too." He sat down on the comfy chair near the fire and gestured to a seat near him. "Take a seat, Lil. It's a long story."

Please review!

If you've read this chapter, I'm assuming you've also read the first couple of chapters. So here are a few things: I figured Lily would take a bit of Ginny's fire into her personality. Albus is the smart, by-the-book one. Kind of like an early Hermione. And James, naturally, takes after his two namesakes - James & Sirius. At least, how I would have imagined the two of them would've been at school.