The sun was high in the sky when Hagrid began to descend. The giant motorbike, blatantly visible to any muggle who just looked into the sky, seemed to be heading for a small cluster of thatched cottages several hundreds of feet below. Judging from the unmistakable wizard fireworks and several shooting stars in the sky, Lily could guess that this was a wizard's house.
When Hagrid had landed, one of the cottage doors burst open and out came little Professor Flitwick, looking more than a little drunk.
"Hagrid!" he squeaked, swaying slightly on the spot. "Have you come to celebrate? The Weasleys, Lovegoods, the Diggorys and… well, others, are inside. "
"No, no, Professor, sir, I stopped to see what was going on," Hagrid said, seemingly with great reluctance. "I'm deliverin' baby 'Arry to Professor Dumbledore, sir!"
"Surely you can have a fire whisky or two?" Professor Flitwick asked, a sly smile touching the edges of his lips. "Dumbledore won't begrudge you the chance to celebrate on a day like this, now, would he?"
A great battle seemed to be going on in Hagrid's head. He kept glancing at the motorbike and Harry in the sidecar, then staring longingly at the thatched cottages, from which Lily could now hear bangs and excited chatter.
"Go on, then," he said at last. "Just don' tell Professor Dumbledore!"
"Don't worry, Hagrid, I won't."
Professor Flitwick disappeared inside.
Hagrid pulled Harry into his arms and followed Flitwick into the cottage. Inside there were at least sixty witches and wizards, which was a great feat considering that the cottage was very small. But they didn't seem to notice how cramped it was. Music was blaring out of the wireless, people were laughing and chatting and many young couples who had managed to get a corner to themselves sat in each others arms, snogging and whatnot.
Lily began to shake with cold fury. Why on Earth were these people celebrating when she and her husband had been murdered, their son left an orphan? How could they do that on a day like this?
"So it's true, then," Hagrid asked Flitwick. "He's really dead?"
"Yes!" Flitwick answered excitedly. "He Who Must Not Be Named is dead!"
Lily could scarcely believe her ears. Dead? Voldemort? Surely not. The last time Lily had seen him he had been at the height of his power, preparing to kill her baby son. How could he have died in such a short time? She immediately assumed that Dumbledore had done it. No other wizard could be capable of wounding Voldemort, not to mention killing him.
"How?" she heard Hagrid ask.
"Nobody knows!" Molly Prewett had heard their conversation and had come over. "Some say that it was the boy, Harry!"
"Never!" Hagrid exclaimed. "Lil 'Arry? Kill Voldemort? I don't believe you, Mol!"
"Ask Dumbledore!" Flitwick squealed excitedly. "He told me just a few hours ago."
"Dumbledore sent me t' fetch 'Arry, but all 'e told me was tha' Voldemort was gone and 'Arry was alone!"
The conversation continued in a similar fashion, but Lily was too wrapped up in her thoughts to listen. Harry couldn't even control his powers, using them to kill the darkest wizard since Slytherin himself was out of the question.
The spell could have backfired of course, but that only usually happened with experimental spells, or when you tried to cast a spell that was too difficult. Voldemort would have used the Killing Curse dozens of times, so that was very unlikely.
Could someone else have done the deed? No. There was nobody else there that night.
She was stumped. Nothing she could think of could have resulted in Voldemort's death.
Molly Prewett suddenly interrupted Professor Flitwick, who was telling them how the Death Eaters had disbanded.
"Oh, God!" she whined, suddenly looking angry at herself. "I completely forgot! The Potters - James, Lily! Is it true Hagrid? Are they really… really… dead?"
Silence. The entire room had stopped laughing and chatting, and were now looking at Hagrid expectantly.
"Yeah." Hagrid admitted gruffly.
Some wailed, some whimpered, some were just silent, their mouths open in shock, but everyone was devastated.
One by one, each of the partiers approached Hagrid and leant over Harry. It was an odd procession - the wizards and witches, some short, some tall, some fat and some thin all formed a queue, waiting for their chance to see the baby boy who was their saviour. A few of them kissed him. Finally, there was just one wizard left. Lily knew him, but it took her a few seconds to realise who it was. Professor Slughorn looked terrible. Everything about him looked bleak, his eyes were empty, his moustache drooping. While Slughorn was normal, he seemed to dominate the room, both physically with his enormous girth and with his bubbly personality. Now he looked more like a lost ghost, grey and diminished.
Looking at Harry, the old man's eyes filled with tears.
"He has his mothers eyes," Slughorn choked. "I'm sorry, I… I just can't be here… Not when…"
With a faint pop! Professor Slughorn vanished. He had Disapparated.
Everyone went back to what they were doing before, though the atmosphere was noticeably more sombre than it had been.
"Poor fella," Hagrid muttered to Flitwick. "'e idolised Lily when she was at 'Ogwarts."
"We all did, Hagrid," Flitwick confessed. "She was the most talented student I ever taught. She was doing spells in her fourth year that even my seventh years struggled with. I saw Minerva as I was leaving the castle; she was beside herself with tears. And Severus…" he grimaced. "Well, he was obsessed with her whilst she was at Hogwarts and I think a part of him still was, even after she married James."
"Slippery little bugger," Hagrid growled, his face murderous. "He says 'e changed, but a leopard don' change their spots if yeh ask me! He'll get wha's comin' to 'im!"
"We'll see at the trial next month," Flitwick said darkly. "But I don't think he'll get off lightly."
"Good God!" Hagrid had just caught a glimpse of the sun out of the window. "It must be nearly six o'clock! Dumbledore wants to mee' me at midnigh'! I'll have to hurry if I'm goin' t' get there on time. Bye, Professor, I'll see yeh another time!"
"Bye, Hagrid!" Flitwick squeaked, already bustling off to speak with the Diggorys.
Outside, Lily could barely believe that how fast time had gone. Dusk was already falling, an eerie orange moon looking down on them from above.
Hagrid placed Harry gently in the sidecar and hopped onto the motorbike. Before he rose into the air, Hagrid seemed to look right at Lily.
"S'funny," he mumbled, his voice shocked. "Coulda swore I jus' saw… Nah, s'impossible."
He turned away from Lily and kicked off the ground rather forcefully, still looking quite shaken.
Lily stayed on the ground for a moment, thinking. Had Hagrid just seen her? Why, and more importantly, how had he seen her? Since she had awoke in the ruins of her house in Godric's Hollow nobody had been able to see her. But she was sure that, just a moment ago, Hagrid had looked right at her.
Hastily, she added it to her ever growing 'Must Find Out' pile and flew after Hagrid who had already become a distant speck on the darkening horizon.
As they flew, Lily couldn't keep from thinking about how people had reacted when they had discovered her fate. The way they wailed, and whimpered, and then she saw Professor Slughorn again - he had looked like a broken man. Had people really cared about her that much?
It must have been past midnight when Hagrid began to descend once again. This time though, it was over a neighbourhood which was vaguely familiar to Lily. She had been here at least once before, she was certain. The square, uniform houses with their perfectly manicured lawns stirred something in Lily's memories. And then she remembered - this was where Petunia and her husband (Was it Victor? Vincent? Ah, yes, Vernon!) lived. But why would Dumbledore be meeting Hagrid here?
The motorbike finally landed on one of the identical streets, which was empty apart from an old man and a stern looking woman in a witches hat. Of course, Lily recognised both of them instantly. It was Dumbledore and McGonagall.
"Hagrid," Dumbledore smiled. "At last. Where did you get that motorbike?"
"Borrowed it, Professor," Hagrid answered. "From young Sirius Black. I've got 'im, sir."
Hagrid picked up Harry, who was asleep, and handed him to Dumbledore.
"No problems?"
"No, sir."
Both Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore leant over the bundle of blankets to look at Harry.
McGonagall caught sight of the lightning shaped slash across his forehead and went pale.
"Was that… Is that where…?" she asked, looking horrified.
"Yes, that is where Lord Voldemort's curse backfired," Dumbledore said. "He will have that scar forever."
"Can't you do something, Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked.
"Even if I could, I wouldn't," Dumbledore explained. "Cursed scars can be useful, you know. Personally, I have one just above my left knee that is a map of the London Underground."
Dumbledore turned towards a house which Lily thought was Petunia's.
"C-Could I say goodbye?" Hagrid whimpered.
Hagrid bent low over the little boy and gave him what must have been a very wet, scratchy kiss. When he straightened up again, he howled like a wounded dog.
"Hagrid," McGonagall hissed, her eyes flashing dangerously. "Be quiet! You'll wake the entire street!"
"S-s-sorry, Professor McGonagall!" Hagrid said, burying his face in a giant handkerchief. "It's jus' s-so sad! Lily - hic - James dead - hic - poor little 'Arry off ter live with - hic - Muggles!"
"Yes, yes, Hagrid, it's all very sad, but get a grip!" Professor McGonagall whispered. "And it's not really goodbye, is it? You'll be seeing him again soon enough."
"Yeah." Hagrid said, looking hopeful.
Dumbledore placed Harry on the doorstep of Petunia's house and gently placed a letter in the bundle of blankets.
For a moment, the three of them stood watching Harry intently.
"Well, Professor, I'd better be gettin' off," Hagrid said.
Still blowing his nose, the giant swung himself onto the motorbike and kicked the engine into life. With a roar, Hagrid rose up and flew off into the sky.
"I expect I'll be seeing you soon, Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore said casually.
But Professor McGonagall was gone. In her place was a cat, with markings very much like McGonagall's glasses around it's eyes. It gave Dumbledore a knowing look and stalked off down the street, soon swallowed by the blackness.
Dumbledore looked like he was about to follow her, but then he turned around swiftly and looked straight at Lily. By the look in his piercing blue eyes, Lily could tell that he could see her as clear as day.
"Lily, my dear," Lily could have sworn that a tear was falling down his cheek. "I expect you are very confused about tonight's events. I will explain everything. Well, as best I can, at least."
"Can you hear me?" Lily asked.
"I can only see your mouth moving," Dumbledore explained. "We can talk later. Meet me at Hogwarts, in my study. To get there, just think of a particularly vivid memory that you have of me. I will see you soon."
CRACK!
Dumbledore Disapparated, leaving Lily standing gawping.
Just a few minutes ago, she had been invisible, resigning herself to a life of boredom. Now, it seemed that Dumbledore could see her. Today was full of surprises.