A/N: Does anyone else feel as though Hogwarts, the castle itself, is alive? Or am I just mad? Anyway, I'm watching 2012 right now, so watch out for spontaneous apocalypse signs... That was a joke. I do that sometimes. The spontaneous signs of apocalypse won't come until chapter 13.


"Bad-ass," Lily said, watching the numbers on Harry's coin glow red and rearrange themselves:

08-05-20-23-08-00

"October fifth?" Ginny looked up at Harry. Her coin was on the table next to his, and it, too glowed as it changed, emanating a soft heat.

"It's been twenty seven years, to the day, since our first meeting," Harry said quietly. "I never thought we'd need it again."

"Do we get coins?" Albus asked. "We could use our own set, you know. Like... you guys get it for the Order, and we'll get a set of the D.A., and then, you know..."

"Er..." Ginny said. "Perhaps we ought to wait until Hermione can cast the Protean, I was never good with those kinds of charms."

"Right," Harry said. "I'll be meeting her shortly."

"And whomever else still has their coin, right?"

"Yeah."

"What do you want us to do, exactly?" Albus asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Lily asked, tucking her hair behind her ears. "They're taking everyone who was in Dumbledore's Army and resurrecting the Order of the Phoenix, and we're going to go back to school and start training students. Just in case."

"Right." Harry looked up from the coin to his two children. "James may only be eighteen, but he's working abroad. We need eyes and ears inside Hogwarts."

"Who can we trust?" Albus asked.

"The core of the original army," Ginny said.

"Everyone in our family?" Lily asked.

"Right," Harry replied. "You two, Rose and Hugo, Lorcan and Lysander... your older cousins are all over the place, but if you know of anyone else you can trust?"

"Abigail," Albus said. "Lily's friend, muggle-born. Huge fan of yours, tough as Grandma Molly."

"Okay," Harry said, nodding. "Talk to some people in your years and up, but be careful. Don't tell strangers. Get someone to vouch for them. You can talk to Professor Longbottom, but don't tell other teachers just yet."

"And make sure that you don't go too far out of your way to break the rules, try and meet during the afternoons or something," Ginny added. "We don't need you getting in trouble over this."

"Right."

"What do we need to teach people?" Albus asked.

"We'll make a list," Harry replied.


Saying their goodbyes and promising to keep in touch, Lily and Albus rejoined Rose, Hugo, Abigail, Lysander, and Lorcan at The Three Broomsticks for butterbeers. They all leaned in, whispering hurriedly.

"And we're meeting at the herbology greenhouses at three, then walking there together, right? So we all know how to find it again." Lily was explaining as everyone sat with wide eyes. Even Hugo was so impressed by the sudden idea of a secret club that he had, it seemed, temporarily forgiven Lily for defending Scorpius, albeit only indirectly.

"And they say that it's because the war is coming?"

"I don't know," Lily hissed, "But remember, the point is secrecy. We don't know, and that means that we don't know what we don't know, so we need to be prepared."

"We need to be prepared for knowing what we don't know?" Lorcan asked for clarification.

"Right," Albus said.

"Perfect."

"That doesn't make much sense," Rose interjected. "If we don't know, how can we know what we need to know to not know and... oh, how confusing."

"We just need to learn basic defensive work and some good hexes just in case," Lily said. "Mum gave me a list of basic defensive work to start with."

"Why am I a part of this?" Abigail asked timidly. "I mean it's not that I'm not thankful, I mean I am, but I was just wondering because I'm not family, and I know the twins aren't either but at least your father knew their parents and mine are just muggles, so-"

"You're here because you're my friend," Lily said, "Because you believe in the cause, because we want you to be safe, and because we trust you. Now," she turned to address everyone in the group, "Anyone who fits this profile is someone we invite. If, for any reason, every single person in this core right here doesn't agree on a member joining us, they're out."

"Now what are you kids up to?" Madame Rosmerta bustled by their huddle carrying a tray of butterbeers. She looked between Rose, Hugo, James, and Lily and sighed.

"You kids are just like your parents, all whispering and... oh, stay out of trouble!"

"Yes ma'am," Hugo said, grinning. She waved them off and delivered the butterbeers to a table of students across the room.

Lily watched her go, and in doing so she realized to whom the tray of butterbeers was going. There, sitting at a table across the room, in a corner surrounded by shadows, was Scorpius Malfoy.

He looked up at Lily, and for a moment none of their friends noticed. He leaned his head toward the direction of the school and she pressed her eyes together once, and when she opened them she rolled her eyes and returned all appearance of attention back to her group of friends. Hugo was glaring at her, and she shrugged, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. He then glared at Scorpius, but he wasn't looking.

The gang changed the course of the conversation to more conventional things, but every so often Hugo would stare at Lily, who did not look back to Scorpius. At some point they got up and stalked past on their way out, but she pretended to be deeply interested in Lorcan's description of his mother's plans to travel to Sweden to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.


Lily slowed her pace, falling slightly behind the group. Lysander followed suit, but she shook her head. He nodded once, then proceeded to engage Hugo in a very heated discussion on which Quidditch team was best.

There was a point where a fallen tree ran parallel to the path between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Scorpius had discovered that by stepping over it, one would find another trail leading to a small clearing in the woods just outside the castle grounds, and he had shared it only with Lily. They had agreed to use it at a meeting spot, and when she stepped into the clearing, he was already there waiting for her.

They kissed in greeting and he started gushing apologies.

"I'm so sorry about this afternoon and I didn't want to cause a scene but you know how Hugo is, from what I hear he's just like his dad and don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with his dad and I know he's a great Auror but I've heard he's got a bit of a temper, too, don't you see it in him? And-"

"Scorpius, Scorpius, no no, no, it's fine." She placed her hand over his mouth.

"He's antagonizing you. I know." She removed her hand. "I'm working on it."

"Speaking of antagonizing, how did it go?"

"Well..." Lily bit her lip.

"That bad?"

"No, well, I only told mum, you see, and she was angry at first, of course, but I don't think she's going to murder you, and in any case we agreed not to tell dad because, well... you know. Bad idea?"

"Right. What are you up to, anyway?"

"Mmm, secret." She smiled.

"Oh really? I bet I could convince you to tell me."

"I bet you could, too, but... no, Scorpius, for the love of - not here!"

He snickered, opting to kiss her on the forehead instead.

"Oh, my precious Lily. What will I ever do without you?"

"I don't know. Meet me tonight?"

"Of course."


A/N: I think there's a ghost in my house. The little nightlight in the dollhouse won't work at all when you push the button, but if you're in the middle of writing a fanfic it'll start singing "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep little baby..."

Creepy!

In other news - WHO'S WATCHING A HARRY POTTER WEEKEND ON ABC FAMILY? I am! Starting with Philosopher's Stone, which is actually 'Sorcerer's Stone' in America because Jo's publishers knew that no one in America would read anything related to thinking in the title. Refer to comedian Myq Kaplan's Last Comic Standing audition on the Y-tube - "Brad Pitt's in this book?" for details.