Hello everyone, here is chapter five. Readers, please review. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All (well, most, anyway) characters are from J K Rowling's brilliant best-selling series.
Chapter Five
The Fallen Warrior's Funeral
"Beautiful service, wasn't it?" Lily said softly as she and James walked together towards the designated Apparition point. It was less than a hundred metres from where Emily had been laid to rest (dressed in her best robes and with her beloved Gryffindor scarf draped around her neck), and they joined the long queue as people began to Disapparate one by one with faint pops.
"It certainly was," agreed James sombrely. Then he gave her a soft smile. "The most beautiful part for me, though, was your eulogy. You all right?" he added, concern in his hazel eyes.
Lily blushed; when she'd arrived for the funeral a couple of hours ago, she'd had no plans to speak, but Emily's mother-in-law, in her own eulogy, had mentioned how Emily had regarded Lily as 'the best student she'd ever taught'. Lily had felt obliged to speak after that, and she'd gone up to the stage and delivered a spur-of-the-moment eulogy. The applause that had followed had been most gratifying… Squeezing James's hand, she said, "Yes, yes – don't worry, I'm all right. At least, I will be…"
"A heroine – that's the word that describes Emily Walcott best. I knew her first as a teacher, then as a mentor, then as a mixture of aunt and older sister – but forever as Emily Walcott, the most formidable fighter I've ever known, and had the privilege to learn from. Emily taught me so many things – not only new, powerful Spells, but also the subtleties of magic, and how to reconcile my abilities with my choices…"
Sirius, Liz, Marlene and the rest, including her peers from the Order of the Phoenix training class, had complimented Lily on her eulogy, too, before giving her hugs and reassuring pats (Ashley Bond had embraced her tightly, having been moved to tears – before swearing revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange). They were all standing in the queue at different places, talking quietly amongst each other.
"Blimey, I'd forgotten how depressing attending a funeral is – the last time I attended one was for my grandmother, when I was five," James was saying to her.
Lily nodded, a little distractedly. "I was really young when my grandfather – my Dad's dad – passed away, too," she said softly. "It was fifteen years ago – it was a heart attack, he was gone by the time they reached the hospital. I remember everyone speaking only in whispers that day, and the mood being generally grim. I was too little to understand much of what was going on, though – but I can say with some certainty that Wizarding funerals are quite similar to Muggle ones."
"Emily taught me that forgiveness is key to being at peace with yourself. She taught me to know my limits, for only when you know them can you constantly push them. She taught me that during war, the hardest choice is often knowing when to keep fighting, and when to retreat. She taught me that retreating – is not necessarily cowardice, but can be, situationally, a gesture of extreme courage. It takes a great deal of courage to accept your fate and sacrifice yourself, but even more to accept that you're not good enough to win this fight, yet with time, you can be. There's nothing stopping you from retreating, regrouping, and returning, stronger than ever before – with a vengeance…"
"My grandmother died of dragon pox," James was saying. "During those days, there was no cure – the only thing one could do was to keep the patient comfortable. It wasn't necessarily fatal, but older people were more at risk to it – and my grandmother, she was well over a hundred."
"Wow," said Lily, awed. "My grandfather was just fifty-three. Dad told me when I was older that it was the stress of the war – that's the Second World War, which coincided with the Global Wizarding War, y'know, Grindelwald's war." He nodded, and she continued, "My grandfather was on the front lines for nearly four years – that probably caused his heart attack, even if it had been twenty years since the end of the war. He was never quite right afterwards, Dad said… My grandmother used to say that he never really came back from the war, that some part of him never returned home from Egypt."
"Emily taught me that sacrificing yourself isn't always the right choice. It's an act of pure good, indubitably – but it's hard on the people you leave behind. And yet… She sacrificed herself so that I could have a chance to live… I was there when it happened. I even had a chance to kill her murderer, to choke the life out of her with my bare hands – but I couldn't do it. Emily wouldn't have wanted that. She's taught me better than that…"
"D'you think that this war will do that to us, too?" asked James, apprehensively. "Stress us out so much that we won't be able to move on from it?"
"Well – people respond differently to adversity," said Lily sagely, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "How about we revisit that when we end up on the right side of this bloody war, eh?"
Lily was looking directly at Emily's family now. Her son had his mum's doe-soft, brown eyes, and Lily's eyes filled with tears at the thought of the child growing up without his parents. "I'm sorry, she said, her voice breaking. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her. But she was one of the bravest people I've ever known, and by far the greatest fighter – a warrior, that's what she was. I promise that I'll spend the rest of my life honouring her memory, by being the fighter she taught me to be." Emily's mum-in-law stood up and embraced her, and the rest of the attendees applauded as she walked back to her seat, head bowed and with tears cascading down her cheeks, but feeling strangely at peace. She'd come to terms with Emily's death at last.
They reached the Apparition point just then, and James gave her a small smile. "Ready?" he asked, and she nodded gently; with a turn and two uncomfortable seconds later, they stood ten feet from the door of Potter Mansion. "C'mon, then," said James, and they approached the door together; James knocked twice, and it magically opened to let them in.
"Ah, there you are – not very far behind us, then," said Mrs Potter, who had evidently been waiting for them. She waved her wand, and a tray laden with three cups of tea and biscuits floated towards them. "Your father has just gone to Exeter – he said your parents would arrive at any minute now, Lily."
"All right," said Lily, nodding as she sat down and taking a cup. "Oh, that one's tea, dear," said Mrs Potter, smiling as she took the cup from Lily. "That one's yours – with the coffee."
"Great, thanks, Mrs Potter!" exclaimed Lily, touched and gratified; James must have informed Mrs Potter about her obvious preference towards coffee. He'd told her a long time ago that tea was the predominantly consumed beverage in their home, and she'd ensured that they'd been served tea when they'd visited her home the previous weekend. She'd even had a cup with them out of politeness, despite her mild distaste for it, and had mentally prepared herself to do the same that day – only to be pleasantly surprised.
"It's no problem – Jamie told us yesterday how you've never tasted a drop of tea at Hogwarts in seven years," said Mrs Potter, her eyes twinkling. "I made sure to send Tippy to Diagon Alley for to buy some coffee this morning – I hope he got the milk and sugar right." She sounded a little anxious, and Lily immediately reassured her that the coffee was very much to her liking.
"That was a beautiful eulogy, dear," said Mrs Potter softly. "I was in tears by the end of it… Spoke from the heart, didn't you?"
"I tried," said Lily, nodding in acknowledgement at the compliment. However, further discussion of her eulogy wasn't what she had in mind at the moment, and she decided to change the subject. "Er – Mrs Potter, how long will it take from Mr Potter and my parents to drive from Exeter to Godric's Hollow?" she asked.
"It isn't very far," said Mrs Potter. "About half an hour at most." She glanced at the grandfather clock on the wall, and said, "Well, it's nearly four – they should be arriving at the Exeter Cathedral any minute now. Your Dad said he'll send me a Patronus once he meets them," she added to James. "Then he'll drive them here."
Lily nodded; she knew that this arrangement had been made for her parents to be comfortable travelling to Potter Mansion via non-magical means. She wasn't even sure if Muggles could travel by Side-Along Apparition or via the Floo network, and they certainly wouldn't be comfortable travelling on a broomstick – which left public transport or driving as the only options for them. Luckily, her Dad had no problem driving for a few hours, and the Potters had insisted that her parents stay the night before driving back the next day ('It's a three-hour journey one way – it'll be tiring, won't it? Please – you must stay the night!' Mrs Potter had said to her Mum, who'd talked it over with her Dad). With some hesitation, her parents had acquiesced.
"In the meantime – I'll go and get ready," said Mrs Potter, standing up. "Now, you two," she said, "You don't necessarily need to be here – unless there is something non-negotiable towards which you want to contribute, like the venue or the menu."
"Menu," said James promptly, raising his hand. "I've spent the last couple of days finalising it – based on some feedback from Lily, too. I was planning to go over it today with everyone."
Mrs Potter nodded approvingly. "All right. As for the venue, your Mum and I have about five or six options each, Lily," she said, addressing Lily directly. "We've decided to narrow it down to three before asking for which one you both want – for the wedding, and for the reception. We'll work out the logistics for each venue today, and eliminate the ones which are tough. It's exciting to plan a Wizard/Muggle wedding!" she added, grinning. "Presents unique challenges, see?"
"But – it can be done, right?" asked Lily apprehensively.
"Oh, of course, dear!" said Mrs Potter, waving a dismissive hand. "There's been loads of half-blood weddings in the past ten years alone, so we do have a plan in place. I meant that every wedding has a unique set of challenges, which makes the planning process exciting!"
"Speak for yourself," said James, with a fake yawn. "I'd use a different word for the process!" He gave Mrs Potter a crooked smile; Mrs Potter simply rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah," before walking up the stairs.
"Prat," said Lily, elbowing James none-too-lightly in the ribs. He laughed and said, "Hey – I just told the truth."
Lily shook her head, before deciding to ask him something that she'd been wanting to ever since they decided to get married. "So, tell me," she began, "Does religion exist in the Wizarding world? Y'know, like Christianity, or Judaism, or Hinduism… Do witches and wizards practise any of the Muggle religions?"
"That's a good but complicated question," said James, raising his eyebrows. "Where is this coming from?"
He really knows me too well, she thought with a grin. "Fine," she said, "Well – my parents do follow Christianity somewhat casually. My sister –" she pursed her lips, "—got married in a church. Me – well, I'm not a religious person per se. But, today at the funeral – it seemed to me like several witches and wizards in Britain do follow some form of Christianity. Like – that bloke at the service essentially said several things which are stated at Christian funerals. Then – there was a coffin, and she was buried – both Christian practices. It left me wondering – well, to be honest, I'd been wondering about this since the day you proposed – how do Wizarding weddings normally work? Are they similar to Muggle weddings? Can you tell me more about that?"
"Sure," said James, before taking a deep breath, as though getting his thoughts together. He took a sip of his tea and said, "So, religion… Witches and wizards have been around since the first humans. I'm not entirely sure how magic came into being within specific living things – that includes humans, magical creatures and plants – but it did. Now, the Muggle religions of Judaism and Hinduism are among the oldest in the world – they've existed for millennia. Then came Christianity, almost two thousand years ago, then Islam, almost fourteen hundred years ago. Each religion brought with it a unique set of beliefs, practices, and rituals. There are loads of other religions around the world – folk religions, as they're called – which have even more practices and rituals. But, broadly, each religion tells its adherents the same thing. Do good things, and perform your duty as a human, as a functioning member of human society, to your fullest extent. Don't be bad or cruel, help your fellow humans, animals, plants and other living creatures… Then – once you die, you'll be judged on whether you belong to Heaven or Hell, and the like." He paused, his brow thoughtful. "As far as the concept of God goes, well – that part's a bit ambiguous for me, too. I dunno if God exists for Muggles, or if it's an entity in which they put their faith, I'm not sure. But as far as the influence of religion on Wizarding society goes, the witches and wizards of the olden days adapted some of the practices of these Muggle religions, not only because the ideas and concepts made sense to them at the time, but also due to their omnipresence." He smiled. "It's tough to ignore something that's everywhere, see?"
"So – a majority of witches and wizards follow Muggle religions, then?" Lily asked, fascinated.
"Not quite," said James, shaking his head. "Several don't – at least not on a daily basis. But when it comes to life events, or traditions like burying the dead – today's Wizarding world tends to follow Muggle religious customs, not only because they grew up in an environment of religious omnipresence, but also because of the sheer number of Muggleborn witches and wizards who brought more and more of these concepts and ideas into the Wizarding world as the contact between both worlds grew. And it's different everywhere, too!"
He paused, drew in a deep breath and continued, "For example… Witches and wizards following Hinduism tend to cremate their dead. The Hindu concept of death is different from ours – they believe that the existence of one's soul is permanent, while the existence of one's body isn't. The soul will keep getting reincarnated into another body every time the previous body passes on, see?"
"Reincarnated?" repeated Lily in confusion.
"Reborn," clarified James, "As a new person, free to live a new life, with no memories of its previous life. You see, in Hinduism, the objective is to attain enlightenment – that concept has different meanings, but I think it means the attainment of freedom from ignorance, or in other words, self-realisation and self-knowledge. I don't really understand it, to be honest," he added, a little sheepishly. "All I know is, once this enlightenment is attained, the soul is free from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth."
Lily frowned as she mulled this over; it was a new and rather fascinating way of looking at death. Her frown deepened as another thought came to her mind. "But – what, then, in case of a Dementor's Kiss?" she asked. "Isn't the soul lost forever in that case?"
"Yes," said James, nodding. "To Hindu witches and wizards, that is a horribly unnatural event, since the hitherto indestructible soul is lost, thereby disrupting the cycle of rebirth. The same holds true for some other religions as well, such as Buddhism… Therefore, in countries where a majority of the people follow these religions, the Dementor's Kiss as a punishment is outlawed. I dunno how the criminals are punished for serious crimes like murder, but they aren't subjected to the Dementor's Kiss."
"I see," said Lily slowly. She found these concepts extremely intriguing; it was a little disconcerting to learn how different people around the Magical world, who believed different things, had implemented those beliefs in their day-to-day life. Well, that's another similarity between the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, she thought. "How d'you know so much about Hinduism?" she asked James, who grinned.
"Well – it happened at a Ministry party, about five years ago," he said. "My parents had a rather lively discussion with another Ministry employee, a Mr Patil, and his wife… It seemed like the adults were swapping these philosophical and theological ideas. I was bored out of my mind at that party, so I stood there and listened, see?"
"I can imagine," said Lily, smiling. "Sirius wasn't there?"
"Nah, it was a party for Ministry employees and their families," said James, shaking his head. "Oh, and one more thing – Mr Patil told my parents that students at the Magical school in India, called Mayavidyalaya – Emily mentioned it once –"
"I remember," said Lily quickly, feeling a pang of sadness that she pushed away at once.
"—right, well – anyway, the students there are taught the Patronus Charm in fourth year itself. They don't pass their examinations, which happen at the end of their fifth year, like ours, if they can't cast a corporeal Patronus, see?"
"Really?" Lily asked, astonished. "Isn't that a tall order? The Patronus Charm is not a walk in the park!"
"Yes, but since they regard Dementors as the foulest of all magical creatures, they teach it early," said James. "Apparently, the students who can't cast a corporeal Patronus are made to learn it during the summer between their fifth and sixth years, and can only begin their sixth year if they succeed. It's quite strict," he added, "I remember thinking at the time how mad the whole thing seemed to be, but that might've been because I'd never heard of the Patronus Charm back then." He chuckled.
"Fascinating," said Lily. "I was thinking that all this is quite similar to how Muggles live their lives, too – in fact, religion plays a key role in laws, rules and regulations in several countries in the Muggle world."
"I can imagine," said James. "You see, wizarding adherents of all religions have found a way to reconcile magic with them."
"But – and I dunno if you remember this from History of Magic – weren't witches and wizards persecuted for being magical?" Lily asked, with a frown. "And – as far as I remember, several people were convicted of witchcraft and burned at the stake by the church in the Middle Ages, at least in Europe…"
"Yes," said James, "Yes, they were. You see – people tend to be afraid of things they don't understand, and take actions to protect themselves. The Muggles of the Middle Ages were no different."
"Then – how come witches and wizards still follow a religion of the very institution which condemned them?" asked Lily, nonplussed.
James smiled. "That's the thing, isn't it?" he said. "Just because certain practices of a certain religion are cruel, doesn't mean the entire religion is that way. All religions tend to preach similar things about how to live one's life doing good deeds. The Wizarding world simply 'borrowed' the traditions and practices they considered to be 'good', see? That's why, wars fought in the name of religion are quite rare in our world. Well – except when witches and wizards aligned themselves with Muggle kings and queens to fight their wars in return for either gold or power. We are human, after all," he said, making a face. "It's quite human to dream of money and power – more so if it's attainable."
"Like Wizarding mercenaries," said Lily, nodding, recalling how Liz had told her about how the Muggle Byzantine Empire had hired wizards and witches to enchant the armour of their cavalry ('Cataphracts', wasn't it?) to protect them as they fought, to the point that they were nearly invincible. She also remembered James telling her how families like the Malfoys had murdered several Muggles when the Black Death was spreading across Europe in the fourteenth century… Aloud, she said, "The Malfoys – tell me about them. Do you have any idea about why they killed so many Muggles in the Middle Ages – you told me this a few months ago – during the fourteenth century? You said they did that 'coz they were anti-Muggle, but is there more to that? Were they mercenaries, too?"
"Yes," said James, nodding. "I remember that conversation – we were talking about the economy of the Wizarding world. The Malfoys actually came to England with William the Conqueror, the Muggle invader from Normandy who dethroned the English Muggle king. Well, it was actually just the one Malfoy, by the name of Armand, who assisted the Normans – it's murky and not exactly well-known how he did that, but I suspect it to be something to give the Normans an edge in battle, like enchanted armour or some potions to increase their strength. He got a piece of land in exchange near Wiltshire, where Malfoy Manor is currently located. He and his descendants subsequently ingratiated themselves into affluent Muggle society, and increased their wealth by dabbling into Muggle currency and assets. They gained a reputation for pure-blood supremacy during this time, but weren't exactly violent enough to kill Muggles – just bigoted." He rolled his eyes. "Some members, like Nicholas Malfoy, however, were more bloodthirsty, and killed Muggles for sport, like I mentioned earlier. Others became mercenaries, assisting the Muggle emperors in their efforts to colonise new lands, like in the Americas. They were only too happy to cut off ties with Muggles once the Statute of Secrecy was passed, since they'd already gained a considerable estate… Plus, they could now be openly anti-Muggle. They've spent their time increasing their influence over the Ministry of Magic ever since," he finished darkly.
"I see," said Lily again. The Malfoys sounded like nasty pieces of work, dating back to nearly a millennium…
"Anyway, getting back on point," said James with a smile, "Our wedding is likely to be a traditional Christian ceremony, since Wizarding weddings aren't that different from Muggle weddings. I realised this at Petunia's wedding, see? So, none of your relatives will think that anything is off, especially considering that my parents will do everything they can to ensure that the Statute of Secrecy is preserved. It's been accomplished in the past, so it won't be a big deal."
"Thank you," said Lily sincerely. She had been worried about that.
"Don't mention it," said James, his grin widening. Lily returned it and took his hand, only to be distracted by light footsteps as Mrs Potter entered, wearing a cream-coloured dress this time and looking beautiful. Lily was just about to compliment her when she frowned at them and said, "You two – you should be getting ready! Your parents will be here in about fifteen minutes, Lily… James's dad sent me a Patronus ten minutes ago!"
"Blimey, you could've told us!" said James, springing up at once; Lily imitated him. "C'mon, Lil – we need to change into something more casual!" He began to run towards the staircase. "We'll be quick, Mrs Potter," Lily promised as she took off after him.
"Don't worry about it," said Mrs Potter. "Either way, we only need your assistance with the venue and the menu, so you're free to do what you want after that. Make sure you're back in time for dinner, though, if you go out."
"We will, thanks, Mrs Potter!" exclaimed Lily as she waved at the older woman before running up the staircase. She could've sworn that she heard a chuckle in response.
A few hours later, she was stepping out of Potter Mansion with James. The sun hung low in the sky, but it was still bright despite it being past nine o'clock; they were heading to the Leaky Cauldron for post-dinner drinks and ice cream with the Marauders, Liz, Marlene and a few others. "That wasn't too hard, was it?" she said as they began to walk towards the Mansion gates.
"Nope," said James, shaking his head. "I'm just glad our parents seemed happy with our input."
It was true; while they'd spent the better part of the last two hours finalising the venue and menu of their wedding, James had been quite surprised with how – easy it had been. No one raised any objections when Lily said that they wanted to get married at the local church in Cokeworth, with Mr Potter saying that he knew of ministers who performed weddings where both wizard and Muggle guests were present, and stating confidently that it would be pulled off with ease. For the reception, Mr Potter had proposed an open-air venue ('We can erect a tent in the centre of a field in case it rains, with a display of fireworks to top off the night!'), and Lily had agreed enthusiastically. As a result, the reception would be taking place at the Cokeworth Cricket Club ground, which was a huge, grassy field that hosted major non-sporting events during the off-season. Lily had told a confused James that cricket was a popular Muggle sport, and that cricket fields tended to be unused for several months during the year, which was why they hosted weddings, concerts and other similar events for additional income.
James had also proposed two sets of menus each for the wedding and reception, with input from Lily as he'd designed them. It had taken him almost an entire day to design the four menus in total, but he'd been proud of himself: each of his menus had a theme to it, with the hors d'oeuvres, main course and pudding being part of the theme. The menu for both the wedding and the reception had been finalized with minimal fuss, and James hadn't even had to use the veto powers that he'd given himself. In fact, the discussion had been on which one to choose for both, because they were all excellent. "I think it suffices to say that you were given one task, and you pulled it off beautifully," Mrs Potter had praised. "I still have to show up to the wedding," James had responded with a smirk, earning himself a mock-punch from Lily.
"I've said this before but I'm going to say it again – designing the reception menu with an international theme was very clever!" Lily complimented as exited the Potter Mansion wards. "The best dishes from around the world!"
James grinned. "I know," he said, and Lily mock-punched him. He chuckled and said, "I thought about it, and realised that Dad might want to invite some of his acquaintances from Europe, or Asia, or the Americas, see? I mean, he did say that there was no limit on the number of guests, so all bets are off. Better to cover all bases in that case."
"True," said Lily, nodding. "I liked your choices, too – all the dishes are well-known as being delicacies from where they originated. I mean, I'll admit that I had my doubts on how well a spicy dish like biryani might go with tiramisu, but it seems quite obvious that people will flock to it 'coz of the biryani's spice!"
"Yeah, and that's not all," said James, taking her hand as they prepared to Disapparate. "Tiramisu stands on its own as an excellent combination of flavours – the bitterness of the coffee contrasting against the rich, creamy sweetness of the custard. It'll also contrast beautifully with a savoury dish like the chicken biryani – there's an added advantage of it being served cold, see?"
"Yup," said Lily, with a grin. "Well – shall we? I can do it."
"Sure," he said, and she turned around on the spot, concentrating hard on the Leaky Cauldron. They appeared at the pub two seconds later, and made their way to a table with several familiar faces; other than the Marauders, Liz and Marlene, Ashley Bond, Gavin Johnson, Brenda Hastings, Claire Palmer, Melissa Knight and Paul Harper were seated at the table. "You're late!" Sirius said as he quickly drew up two more chairs with a wave of his wand, "We've been waiting!"
"Sorry, dinner ran a bit long," said James, as they both sat down. "You lot didn't get started? You should have!"
"Black's just exaggerating, Potter," said Ashley, with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Claire and Melissa got here just a minute before the two of you."
"Yes, and not all of us live within spitting distance," said Gavin slyly, and several people laughed. Shaking his head, Sirius gave a huge, fake sigh and said, "I get no respect around here!"
"Let's change that, then," said Claire, with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. "You live the closest, so that makes you the host – ergo, you can pay for all of us tonight." Everyone laughed again, and Sirius glared at Claire with no real heat. "I'm poor," he said promptly, "Ever since my parents kicked me out."
Those who didn't know this detail looked blank, but Liz snorted. "Did you a world of good, they did!" she exclaimed, with uncharacteristic viciousness.
"Well – parents do want their children to be happy," deadpanned Remus, and Lily, James and the other Gryffindors laughed.
"Wait – what's this about your parents, Black?" asked Ashley sharply, her forehead wrinkled.
"Hang on," said Sirius, as he waved at Tom the barman, who came over promptly. "Yes?" he asked with a smile that revealed several missing teeth.
"Can we have – er – thirteen Firewhiskeys, please?" said Sirius, quickly counting the number of people seated at the table. Tom nodded, and Sirius added, "Oh, and please keep my tab open, Tom."
"All right, Mr Black," said Tom, and nodded once to Melissa (who nodded back, smiling) as he made his way to another table, where a group of old wizards were seated. Lily remembered at once that Melissa had been the one to take Fabian to St Mungo's the night of the skirmish at Carrow Manor; clearly, that would explain his nod to her. She quickly turned to Claire, who was saying, "I was joking, Black… You don't have to pay –"
But Sirius waved a hand at her. "Nah, no problem," he said, before turning to Ashley. "So – my parents," he began, his voice cold as ice, "Well – the short story is, they're pureblood fanatics who believe they're practically royalty. I never agreed with any of that nonsense, and two summers ago, things came to a head – I'd just about had it with them. They disowned me, and I took off – straight to James's, where I'd always felt welcome." He gave James a sideways glance and continued, his voice far gentler, "I'd only intended to stay for a night or two – just enough time to get in touch with my cousin Andromeda, who was also disinherited due to her marrying Ted Tonks, a Muggleborn bloke – to ask her if I could stay at her place for a few days. But James and his parents, they weren't having it – they welcomed me with open arms, and his parents sort of adopted me as a second son."
"I see," said Ashley slowly.
"Then, last year – my Uncle Alphard died," continued Sirius, lowering his eyes. "But – he left me and Andromeda some money – just enough for me to be independent, see? I got the flat in Diagon Alley last summer, and in terms of rent, it's a steal! It's a good thing the landlady likes me."
A heavy silence followed Sirius's words, until it was broken by Brenda Hastings. "So – what about your brother? He stays at home, then?"
"Yep," said Sirius, a little viciously. "We used to be close, but our parents got to him before I could. He's a pureblood fanatic too, now…" He sighed.
"That explains a lot," said Brenda, shaking her head. Lily knew that she was referring to the incident a few weeks ago, causing Regulus and Thorfinn Rowle to be kicked off the Hogwarts Quidditch team after getting into a scuffle with Ashley over blood purity.
"Doesn't matter," said Sirius, dismissively. "They're not my family anymore."
Their Firewhiskey floated towards them at that moment, and they all plucked their goblets from mid-air. "Anyway," continued Sirius, "A toast, then." He raised his goblet. "To Emily Walcott," he said solemnly, and Lily drew in a sharp breath, "Teacher, mentor, friend – and the bravest person I've ever had the privilege of knowing. She fell in combat – an awful, awful loss for us –" he lowered his eyes, "—a loss, which we will neither forgive, nor forget. She will be avenged."
"Hear, hear," said the rest of them, and drank deeply from their goblets. Lily felt the sudden warmth from the Firewhiskey as it went down through her gullet, spreading a feeling not unlike an adrenaline rush through her body. She set her goblet down, and the knot in her stomach that had formed when Sirius had mentioned Emily seemed to loosen.
"That was a beautiful eulogy you gave, Lily," said Paul Harper. "It was eloquent, poignant, and intense…" He sighed and took another swig of his Firewhiskey. "I don't think there was even one person in the crowd who didn't shed a few tears."
"Thanks, Paul," said Lily sincerely, with a little smile at him. Some of the others also echoed Paul, and she felt gratified. "I didn't do anything special, really," she said, "I wasn't expecting to speak, but the way Mrs Walcott spoke about me, I felt like I had to go up and say something."
"We all knew you were Emily's favourite," said Brenda Hastings, setting down her glass. "And for good reason, too – after all, in all the practice duels we fought against her, you were really the only one who could land a hit on her. The rest of us were reduced to defence…"
"Too true," sighed Gavin. "It was frustrating, really – I must've duelled her ten times and never managed to even faze her!"
"Honestly," said Melissa softly, "I was relieved when you lifted that Body-Bind Curse on me that awful night, Lily… I remember thinking to myself that I had nothing to fear, so long as I had you fighting by my side!"
"Oh, come on," said Lily, blushing. James laughed from next to her and said, "Don't be modest, Lil – you really are that good."
"Agreed," said Liz, nodding. "I don't think I'm anything to sneeze at in a duel, myself – and yet, I always had a hard time finding a way past your defence, Lily. That's because your best defence is a solid offence!"
Several people chuckled and nodded in agreement. Lily felt her face redden further. "Seriously," she said, "I don't do anything special… I just have a simple strategy of ending a duel as quickly as possible, 'coz I know I won't last too long, due to my poor endurance and preferred utilisation of exhausting, energy-draining Spells."
"Your endurance has gotten a lot better," James pointed out. "I've seen it myself."
"And you're forgetting that the exhausting Spells are, in fact, some of the strongest ones," said Sirius, as he drained the rest of his goblet in one gulp. "I mean, I've had practice duels against Prongs and Moony, and I always back myself to defeat them… But you, you're different." He grinned. "With you, I always get the feeling that you have a trick or two up your sleeve that I don't know of, which holds me back a bit, see? I spend too much time trying not to get blindsided."
"Yeah, like that Furorem Spell extension," said James, nodding in agreement. "I remember feeling thunderstruck when she used that."
"What's this Furorem Spell?" Claire asked interestedly.
"It's not a standalone Spell per se," explained James. "It's what's called a Spell extension… When applied for the Fire Wave, it increases the Wave's damage output by about – five times, was it?" he asked, turning towards Lily.
"That's right," she said, "It transforms the Fire Wave into an inferno, which can essentially burn through anything."
Several people let out low whistles, and Melissa exclaimed softly, "Wow!"
"What's the extension for the Water Wave?" Paul asked eagerly. "I've discovered that Water is my element, and I'd like to it!"
"Diluvium," said Lily. "The full Spell would be Torrensum Diluvium… But I'd advise you to proceed with caution." She told them about the harmful effects of using the Wave extensions, and felt fairly confident by the end of her monologue that she'd sufficiently discouraged them from trying them out any time soon. Indeed, Paul assured her that he wouldn't be trying anything until he'd read at least four or five books on the Wave extensions.
"So – tell us what happened after I left with Fabian," said Melissa. "That is, if you don't mind," she added quickly.
Lily shook her and said, "No, I don't mind – but before that, what happened after you and Fabian got out? I was terrified that you hadn't been able to leave in time, those blokes destroyed the fireplace at the same time as you left!" She shuddered.
"I got out in the nick of time," said Melissa softly. "I actually heard the explosion as I started spinning away, and I knew at once that something awful had happened… I stumbled out of that fireplace –" she pointed to the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace, where a warm fire crackled, "—and fell to my knees. Tom was by my side at once, and I implored him to get help immediately. He called St Mungo's through the fire, and I sent you a Patronus message – I was worried sick! But you responded immediately, and I felt relieved… By then, two Healers from St Mungo's had arrived, and they levitated Fabian onto a stretcher. One of them took him to hospital immediately, while the other one checked on me, ensured that I was doing all right, and Disapparated, too…" She paused to take a sip of her Firewhiskey. "In all this commotion, I'd missed the fact that the other boys were standing near us the whole time. As the eldest, I took charge, and asked Tom the best way to get to Hogwarts. Tom told me to go to the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade, and assured me that the barman would assist us in getting back into Hogwarts – which he did, by sending a message to Professor Flitwick…"
"I see," said Lily slowly; in the days following Emily's death, she hadn't had a chance to speak to Melissa, so it felt good to hear what had happened to her, too. It was time to tell her side of the story now… "Well," she began, "As for what happened at our end – just as I prepared myself to duel both goons simultaneously, James arrived." She glanced affectionately at him before describing their battle with the other thugs, their attempted escape, James's injury, Emily's arrival and subsequent neutralisation of seven goons, James's recovery, and finally, their battle against Yaxley while Emily battled Bellatrix Lestrange. At this point, her eyes filled with tears, but they were tears of anger instead of sadness. She described how they'd defeated Yaxley, how Emily had gone down, and how they'd taken over duelling Bellatrix in her place… Lily described how her Fire Inferno had consumed Bellatrix's Fiendfyre (thanks to an assist from James and Bellatrix's own exhaustion), how Bellatrix had been subdued, and her subsequent breaking of the latter's nose (a ripple of laughter went around the table at that). She then described the arrival of Voldemort with more of his goons, and everyone at the table gasped collectively. "You kept that quiet!" exclaimed Gavin. "Blimey, you actually encountered You-Know-Who? Dumbledore wasn't exactly forthcoming on the details!"
"Yeah, we did," said Lily, having forgotten that the others outside of her usual circle would be unaware of all the details of their fight with Voldemort. "And what's more – James referred to him as 'Tim Riddle'." She snorted, and the shocked silence at the table slowly gave way to raucous laughter. They laughed noisily for at least a full minute. "Tim Riddle!" exclaimed Gavin, wiping tears from his eyes, and panting slightly, "Holy Helga, James – you have a death wish!"
"'Holy Helga'?" repeated James, confused.
"It's quite a common expression for Hufflepuffs," explained Gavin. "I expect there's one for each of the founders – I've heard more than one Ravenclaw say 'Raging Rowena'." He glanced at Claire and Melissa, who nodded in confirmation.
"We have one too," said Peter, to the surprise of the other Gryffindors. "It's not very common, but I've heard people exclaiming 'Great Godric' from time to time."
"Blimey, I don't think I ever did!" exclaimed Sirius. "And I spent seven years in Gryffindor tower!"
"Well – that's what happens when you spend half your time in broom cupboards," said Peter slyly, winking at Sirius, who made a face at him before addressing Ashley and Brenda. "D'you have one too?"
"Obviously," said Ashley, with a slight smile. "It's 'Sweet Salazar'…"
Everyone dissolved into laughter again, and it was a while before anyone of them were coherent. "So, what happened when you came face-to-face with You-Know-Who, Lily?" asked Gavin eagerly. "Come on, tell us!"
"All right," said Lily, smiling slightly at his enthusiasm. "Well, he tried to recruit us…" She described their exchange with Voldemort, Fawkes's timely arrival, and their escape after James had conjured a box around them, having correctly anticipated that Killing Curses would be sent towards them as they tried to escape…
A stunned silence from the non-Gryffindors followed her story. Finally, Claire said, "I have to hand it to the two of you – quite incredible, honestly, how you kept your cool!"
"I was terrified from the inside," admitted Lily. "But I'd resolved that I'd go down fighting – I wasn't going to make it easy for him, see?"
"Yeah, me too," said James, nodding. "I had no intention of begging for my life, so I chose to taunt him instead – I said that Dumbledore was far superior to him, and apparently, that called Fawkes to us. Once he arrived, my hopes of making it out alive rose exponentially… I quickly worked out a plan, prayed that Lily would grab on to me the moment I screamed 'Now!', and conjured the box as soon as I'd had my say."
"As Claire said, incredible," whispered Ashley. "Incredible…"
They sat there talking until past midnight, following which Tom came by and told them that he would be closing the pub for the night in about half an hour. Paul was the first to rise, followed by Marlene a second later. "Well, I should get going," he said, withdrawing a small money bag from his pocket. "How much do we owe you, Sirius?" he added, indicating himself and Marlene. Sirius shook his head. "My treat," he said simply, "You can buy the next time we go out."
"Deal," said Paul, smiling as he held a hand out to Marlene. "Drop you home, Mar?"
"Sure thing," she said, and gave him an affectionate kiss before turning to them all and waving. "See you at the next meeting!" They waved back at her, and she walked out of the pub, hand in hand with her boyfriend. The rest of the group left one by one, until James, Lily, Sirius and Liz were the only ones remaining. They made plans to meet up for dinner again the next night, and said their goodbyes before leaving, too. Lily Apparated herself and James back to Potter Mansion, and they both walked into the house together. Both sets of parents had evidently gone to bed.
"Don't worry, they're not going to be annoyed with us for being late," said James reassuringly. "I sent my Dad a Patronus telling him that we'd be home late, and that we'd be careful."
"All right," said Lily, relieved, and feeling a little guilty at having forgotten about her parents entirely as she'd been out drinking and having fun. "Well, I'll head off to the guest room, then… 'Night."
"'Night, Lil," he said softly, and kissed her. "Love you," he said as he drew back.
"Love you too," said Lily, and with a little wave at him, she made her way to the guest room where she'd slept during her last overnight visit to Potter Mansion. She lay down on it, fully dressed, exhausted with the day's events and feeling strangely light. Perhaps reliving the skirmish at Carrow Manor, and remembering Emily as the brave, valorous witch who had taken out several goons despite being outnumbered had helped her make peace with Emily's demise, as much as her funeral had… Whatever the reason, Lily knew that she would do her best to fulfil the promise she'd made to Emily several years ago.
Voldemort – you must stop him…
We will, Emily, thought Lily as she drifted off to sleep. We'll stop him, I promise…
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