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Chapter Six: Loyalty

"Apparate, Lily," Severus hissed.

"No."

Lucius was walking a wide a circle around them. "Go ahead and try to apparate, Mrs. Potter. You'll find that we've put this park under an Anti-Disapparition Jinx. We'll give you time to think of a plan."

One of the other Death Eater's leaned towards his nearest neighbor. "I thought we were waiting for the Dark Lord?"

"Silence!" Lucius bellowed.

While his former allies were busy facing Lucius' wrath, Severus reached behind him until he had hold of Harry's small foot. He cast the protego spell that he had modified which offered the child an extra level of protection. He wished he could do the same for Lily but he had only mastered small objects or small areas of the body. If he and Lily were going to survive, they needed to get away before Voldemort arrived. Before any idea of escape could form, Lily leaned towards him.

"Grab my shirt."

With his free hand, he found a wrinkle in her shirt and clutched it. As soon as he did, a startling flash of light erupted from the tip of her wand and he felt her start to move. She must have had her eyes closed when she cast the charm as he had to run to keep up with her. The Death Eaters were shouting and trying to flounder their way around in the night after the flash of light. Shouts of "stop them" echoed around them but Lily was dodging and weaving through masses that were starting to take shape. If his eyesight was starting to come back then that meant-

Something hit him directly in the middle of the back and he let go of Lily, not wanting to bring her down with him. When he hit the ground, it knocked the wind out of him and he saw Lily's feet stop and turned around. He had to cough to get enough air in his lungs so his voice would work.

"Go," he rasped out but like always, she didn't listen and tried to get him back on his feet with her wand in one hand and Harry in the other. For her sake, he lurched to his feet only to find the circle of Death Eaters had closed ranks again. Not wanting to go through the trouble of chasing them again, ropes came flying at them from Malfoy's wand. Severus saw them coming and pushed Lily back down with him, feeling the ropes pass over them. He was certain that was the only thing they would be able to dodge that night. Then, a miracle happened.

More cracks and pops reverberated around them and Severus looked up to see dark shapes moving from the street and entering the park. At first, he was afraid it was Voldemort and more Death Eaters but then flashes of light started to connect with the Death Eaters. Once they neared, he could make out the faces of Black, Lupin and the battle scarred Auror Alastor Moody. Keeping a firm hold on Lily and trying to act as a shield, he pushed her through the break in the circle and towards the cavalry.

"You have to go back," he told her. "You have to go back to Hogwarts."

"He's right," Lupin said. "Dumbledore's waiting for you at the gates."

She looked from Lupin back to Severus, and he saw the defiance in her face.

"Think of Harry, then," Severus challenged, "if not yourself." She relented with a scowl and he kept acting as shield till she had passed out of the confines of the park. She gave him a pleading look before she disappeared. Turning around, he headed back into the fray. The first pair of duelers he saw was Black and Malfoy. Severus sent a disarming spell zooming over Black's head and it grazed Malfoy's shoulder. It was just enough of an opening for Black to hit Malfoy with a forcible spell that knocked Malfoy to the ground and the man didn't get up. Black saw it was Severus who came to his help but neither man acknowledged the action at the time but moved off in separate directions into the fight.

"You're sure that they will come back here?"

Lily heard Dumbledore bite back a sigh of frustration. It had been the fifth time that she had asked him that question, but it had been twenty minutes since she had appeared. "Yes, I'm certain." They were standing at the main entrance of the school, waiting for the arrival of the Order members that had come to her and Severus' rescue. Minerva had offered to take Harry and put him to bed for her while she waited for everyone to return. She was worried that one of the Order members hadn't been informed of Severus' change of heart and accidentally hurt him in the ensuing battle. There were suddenly many cracks that broke the quiet of the night and she immediately stepped forward but Dumbledore stepped in front of her, his wand raised.

"Identify yourself."

It was Remus who appeared first. He looked tired and was terribly out of breath. "My name is Remus John Lupin, I'm a werewolf. You planted the Whomping Willow on the school grounds so the passageway to the Shrieking Shack would be hidden."

Dumbledore lowered his wand. "Any casualties?"

Remus shook his head. "Not this time. But I'm afraid Poppy is going to have her work cut out for her tonight."

Lily pushed her way past Dumbledore. She was about to ask who was hurt when Sirius, sporting a cut across his forehead, and Frank Longbottom appeared through the darkness carrying a tangle of black fabric. They rushed past her but not before she caught sight of Severus' deathly pale face. She started to follow after them but Remus stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Let Poppy have a go at him before you see him."

Dumbledore started to walk back up to the school and Remus and Lily kept stride with him. "What happened, Remus?"

"There were a total of ten Death Eaters. We tried to capture as many as possible but we had to leave them all behind when Voldemort showed up. Apparently, he took Severus' defection quite personally."

"I was afraid of that," Dumbledore said.

"What happened to him?" Lily asked. It had barely been twenty-fours since James was killed, she wasn't certain she could take another death so soon, especially that of a friend.

Remus shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't rightly know. We saw Voldemort appear and Moody called a fall back. We went to the street to apparate and when I turned around, all I saw was…" he trailed off and cast a worried look at Lily. She nodded for him to continue. "I just saw a lot of blood and then Severus fell. Voldemort had his wand pointed at him."

"And you did a side along apparation?" Lily asked.

"No, actually. Sirius was closest to him and he was the one that did the side along apparation."

"Really?" Dumbledore looked as shocked as Lily felt.

"Other than some minor scrapes," Remus continued, "we all escaped in fair condition. Moody went back to the Ministry to report the incident."

"I thought you and Sirius were to put the Longbottoms into hiding?" Dumbledore asked.

Remus let out a short laugh. "You know Frank. Alice and Neville are hidden. Frank heard we were summoned to Surrey and came with us."

The rest of the walk up to the castle was silent and all Lily wanted to do was see for herself that Sirius, Remus and Severus were all safe and in good health. She tried to block out all the negative images that were freely flowing through her mind. Once they reached the castle, the walk to the hospital wing was excruciatingly long. Remus waited with her while Dumbledore disappeared behind a privacy curtain that been erected around one of the far beds.

"Are you alright?"

Lily looked over Remus in surprise. "I wasn't even there fighting."

"Not just the attack, I meant how are you doing altogether?"

She hadn't really had time to think too much of how she felt. Quite frankly, she didn't really want to stop long enough to think about it. She was essentially a single mother now, with a child that could possess the power to destroy one of the darkest wizards history has seen. Her best friend, who she had given up as lost, had suddenly had a change of heart at great expense to himself. Everything seemed like it had turned upside down and only she had remained right side up.

Dumbledore reappeared and walked towards them, a serious look on his face. "Poppy is trying to heal up the wound that Voldemort made. It appears nothing more than a large gash but since it was made by dark magic, she's having a hard time closing it. Until she can find a way, she is administering blood replenishing potions. He appears out of mortal danger at the moment, but Poppy has made it very clear that he needs rest."

"I want to see him," Lily blurted.

Dumbledore laid a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps you should rest and come back tomorrow morning."

"No, I want to see him. I need to make sure…" and her voice failed her. She tried to form more words, they needed to know that she couldn't lose anyone again. Dumbledore handed her a handkerchief. She hadn't even realized she was crying…again.

"Hey, no reason to cry."

She looked up to see Sirius strutting towards her, a tired smile on his face. He pointed up to his forehead where a six inch strip of new skin was formed.

"See," he said, "Poppy patched me up in nothing flat. Won't even leave a scar so I don't have to worry about it taking away my good looks."

Lily wanted to smack his arm for his arrogance but she remembered that he was the one that brought Severus back to them. "Why?" she managed to croak out. "Why did you save him?"

Sirius' attempt at being cocky faded into a more sullen look. "I knew you would seriously hurt me if I left him there."

"I would have."

"Why?" Annoyance played over his features. "What do you care what happens to old Snivellus?"

This time, Lily did hit him on his arm. "Don't call him that! He risked his life for me and Harry, twice now!"

"Oh, and we," he motioned to Remus and himself, "haven't?"

"I think what Lily is trying to say," Dumbledore interjected, "is that it is best to think of Severus as on our side now. And we should treat him with the same respect that we treat each other."

"How do we know he's on our side?" Sirius challenged. "He could be faking, playing spy."

"I don't think you buy into that belief."

Sirius crossed his arms. "What makes you say that?"

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled. "You wouldn't have saved him tonight if you didn't think he was fighting for us."

While Dumbledore and Sirius were discussing Severus' loyalties, Lily slipped away from the group and behind the privacy screen. Severus was laying on his stomach, Poppy leaning over his bare, bloodied back. She looked up briefly to notice Lily's arrival but didn't say anything about it.

"He's very fortunate the spell hit his back and not his arm."

Lily frowned and pushed back some of his hair from his washed out face. He practically blended in with the pristine white sheets. "Why is that?"

Poppy gave her a very serious look. "It would have taken it off. I'm not certain I can heal it. The curse that did this is nothing but dark magic."

"May I sit with him?"

"For a few minutes, I suppose. I gave him a very strong sleeping potion, so he won't be waking up for a while."

Lily summoned a chair and pulled it up close to the bed. She had lost both Severus and James but for some reason, fate had given her back Severus. She wasn't about to lose him again.