A/N: I absolutely love everyone that has reviewed! But I'm sad to say that my updates may slow down a bit because I've got two tests this week, not to mention about a thousand pages to read. And don't forget to reveiw!!
Meetings
"I'm going to go ahead and take a break," Lily said to Ashley. "You wanna come with me?"
"Sure." Ashley replied bubbly. Lily had the fleeting desire just smack the pep right out of her.
They made their way to the cafeteria, got a cup of coffee, and sat sown at a table. They were talking about one of their patients when Lily heard a woman say her name. She turned and said, "Sofia?"
Just behind Lily stood a woman with salt and pepper hair and hazel eyes. The woman practically pulled Lily out of her seat to hug her. Once she released Lily, she said, "I thought I heard one of the boys saying you were back. How have you been?"
"Great, just great," Lily said, still slightly shocked. And then she remembered who was with her. "Sofia, this is Ashley, she's training to become a Maternity Healer and she's also your son's girlfriend."
Sofia Potter gave Lily a surprised look. But when Lily shook her head slightly, Sofia turned to Ashley, held out her hand and smiled. "Of course, Ashley, I've heard so much about you."
Ashley beamed like a beauty contestant (Lily had the urge to hit her yet again) stood to shake Sofia's hand and said, "Oh, Mrs. Potter, I'm so glad to finally meet you."
"You must excuse me, dear, my mind is not what it once was, but how long have you and James been dating?"
"A little over five months."
Sofia gave Lily a quick glance and Lily had to look away to keep from grinning. She knew what Sofia was thinking; Lily and Sofia had first met two months after she and James had begun dating.
"I have an idea Ashley," Lily said, "How about you go and do a complete assessment on the woman in room six – twelve. I need to go down and speak with Healer Johnson."
"Alright. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter."
"Likewise, Ashley."
Once Ashley had left, Sofia and Lily sat down at the table.
"She has no idea about you and James, does she?"
Lily shook her head. "She's clueless – and apparently James wants to keep it that way."
"Yes, I did hear about you run–in a few evenings ago."
"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you – how is Edward?"
"Not good, dear. James is with him now...he nearly had to kick me out of the room so I could get something to drink."
Lily looked at her watch. "I really need to get going...It was great to see you again. Tell Edward I send my best."
Sofia smiled and said goodbye before Lily headed back to her ward.
"So what is you assessment of," Lily paused and looked down at her chart, "Mrs. Weasley?"
"This is her fourth pregnancy. She and her husband have three boys and are now expecting twins. She's currently seven centimeters dilated with one hundred percent effacement."
"And the twins?"
"Still active, heart rates still in normal range, no fetal distress indicated."
"Good, and is everything set up for the deliveries?"
"Yes."
"Excellent, she could go at anytime. I've seen women go from five to ten centimeters in half and hour or less." Lily glanced at the clock behind her. "Looks like we'll be delivering a set of twins before the end of shift."
000
Lily and Rachel, the hoods of their cloaks pulled over their heads, walked into the Hog's Head. It was a dark, rather dingy pub. They removed their hoods and looked around expectantly. When Lily's eyes fell of the barman, he inclined his head toward the stairs. She tugged on Rachel's sleeve and headed up the stairs.
"Now where do we go?" Rachel whispered.
Lily looked around. The door to her left had what appeared to be a small phoenix engraved into the door knob.
"This is it." Lily answered quietly. She opened the door to reveal the room nearly full. She felt as though she had been ushered onto a stage as every head turned to look at her and Rachel.
Lily felt a tug on her sleeve as the group began to have their hushed conversations. She followed Rachel to the back of the room when she realized who they were walked toward. It was none other than Sirius and Remus, standing next to, of course, James.
They exchanged greetings just before Albus Dumbledore stood at the front of the room. Everyone went silent.
"You all know why we have gathered this evening," he began. "We have become united in the cause against the forces that threaten us and our loved ones. Therefore, I need not express how very important our work will be.
"Now, as many of you know, when Voldemort first began his campaign of terror, his and his followers' main victims were Muggles and Muggle–borns. But as his support grew – and continues to grow – he will not hesitate to destroy any that stand in his way. But from the information that has recently come into light, it seems that he may be returning to his roots. A large number of Muggle and Muggle–borns – mainly women – have disappeared in the past months, yet very few bodies have been found. What has been found of these victims are only pieces.
"It is my belief that, on Voldemort's orders, the Death Eaters have set up some type of torture camp."
Lily felt a shiver run down her spine. She looked around at the gathered crowd. While she didn't know most of the people, it was easy to pick out those who came from Muggle families: they were the ones with the most terrified faces. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James looking at her. She wouldn't – no, couldn't – look back into his hazel eyes. Instead, she continued to look straight ahead, even though she could feel her face flush.
000
Nearly an hour later, most of the Order had left. Lily and Rachel were speaking with Frank and Alice Longbottom, who had been a few years ahead of them in school, when Albus approached them.
"Excuse me, Lily, but may I have a word?"
"Of course. I'll see you guys later."
She followed Dumbledore into a side room – where James was already seated. Dumbledore showed Lily the seat next to James, and conjured a chair across from them for himself. "First of all," he began, "I would like to thank both of you for joining the Order, and I know that this was only our first meeting, but I have an assignment for the two of you."
Lily and James nodded.
"James, tomorrow Alastor Moody will formally tell you this, but I need you to go to New York and speak with the Aurors there. See if they have anyone they could send to help our cause. Lily, because you actually lived in New York, I would like you to accompany James. I believe that it would be best if you presented your case in the most social way possible." Dumbledore paused to look at Lily imploringly. "Which is why it would be best if you introduced yourself to the Aurors in New York as Lily Potter."
Her eyes grew to the size of galleons. James opened his mouth as though to say something, but nothing came out; instead, Lily said, "As his sister?" though she knew it was no good.
Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "No,"
Lily nodded, not daring to look at James. Dumbledore continued to talk about their mission, saying that they would be leaving from the Muggle airport in London in three weeks and stay for three nights at a five star hotel.
After Dumbledore had dismissed them, Lily nearly ran into the streets of Hogsmeade and Disapparated.
000
Two weeks later, Rachel was helping Lily move into her new apartment. Well, technically, it was her old apartment. After nearly begging the landlord, she was able to her place back. Since Rachel had to work the late shift that night, she'd left Lily with about half of her boxes still to unpack.
It have been nearly three hours since Rachel had left. By now, Lily had unpacked most of her things, except for a few pots and pans, but to be honest with herself, it was a very rare occasion when she cooked, so she wasn't too concerned with it.
Lily sat on her floor, a photo album in her lap and a glass of wine in her hand. Her mother had given her a camera and this album just before she left for Hogwarts.
She opened the album. Most of the pictures were of her and Rachel through those seven years. But the last part, the ones from her seventh year, was different. These were mainly pictures of James and Lily, in the corridors of the castle, by the lake, on the Quidditch pitch, a few of them capturing a kiss. With an anger that sprung from somewhere deep within her, she slammed the album shut and downed her glass of wine.
But she wasn't allowed to wallow in self–pity for long: an owl was tapping at her window. She stood up, slightly dizzy, to let it in. It carried a short note in Rachel's handwriting.
Edward passed away.
000
Lily had expected the funeral to be crowded. After all, Edward Potter had been the Head Auror before his retirement six years before, and the Potters had always been a very well respected family. But what greeted her and Rachel was incredible. It seemed as though at least half of the Ministry's workers – including the Minister of Magic himself – were there, not to mention various other wizards and witches. They had stood in line for nearly twenty minutes before they paid their respects to Sofia and James. Lily couldn't help but notice that Ashley was always close by. They spoke briefly to Sirius and Remus, who were nearly as upset as James.
She and Rachel had gone out for dinner afterwards, but neither had eaten much. Lily went home, took a shower and flopped down with one of her favorite novels when the doorbell rang.
"James," she said in surprise, "what are you doing here?"
"I know we're leaving in four days for New York," he said, looking somewhere around her knees, "and I just wanted to go over a few things. Can I come in?"
He raised his head and looked, almost pleadingly, into her green eyes. Lily felt suddenly vulnerable, and very aware of the pajama pants that where hanging over off of her hips and the white, nearly see though tank top she was wearing.
"Uh, sure, come on in. Do you want something to drink?"
"No, thank you."
An awkward moment passed between them before Lily said, "Look James, I'm really sorry about your dad. I'm sure that if you were to just talk to Dumbledore we could postpone the assignment– "
"He said that, too. Dumbledore, I mean. But no, the sooner we get this done, the better. And that's what I came to talk about." He suddenly adopted a very business–like tone. "I've told Ashley that I need to go to the States on Auror business. What did you say?"
"That my ex–roommate in New York is having a baby and that I promised her I'd be there. But I don't think she's added two and two together yet."
"Good. I've got a basic idea of what we're doing, the Head of their Auror department sent me an owl yesterday, his name is Kent Wilson. The first night we're not doing anything because our flight doesn't land until five o'clock their time. The second day we're going into the Ministry to meet Mr. Wilson and the last night we're to have dinner with him and his wife, also an Auror, and his cousin, the Head of the International Magical Cooperation. Apparently, we are going to some Muggle restaurant, and he made a point of saying that we are to dress formally."
"Thanks for the itinerary."
He smiled slightly. "There's one more thing." He took a deep breath and continued. "Since you're going to be my wife for a whole three days, I thought you should have this." James pulled a small black box out of his robes and handed it to Lily.
Curiously, she opened it. The bottom of her stomach nearly dropped out when she saw the impressive diamond ring inside.
"I thought you'd like it."
She took the ring out of it's box and slid it onto her finger; it was a perfect fit. "Where did you get it?"
"Just something I had lying around the house."
Lily roller her eyes. "Well thank you, dear husband," she laughed.
James stood to leave. "I'll see you at the airport, then?"
Lily nodded. "See you then."
After James left, leaned against the door, staring at the ring he had given her. Well, not given her – let her borrow...strictly for the mission. And he did have a point, if they were going to tell everyone they were married, they had to make it look good. What wouldn't she have given to have James give her this ring last year? Lily shook her head as she made her way to her room.
Once again, she found herself looking at the ring again. It was beautiful. It had three diamonds – one in the center and two slightly smaller ones on each side.
How in the hell am I going to pull this off? she thought desperately as she carefully placed the ring in her jewelry box.
