Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter or Harry Potter related copyrights.

The first thing that Lily saw when she opened her eyes was wet and slimy grey rock. The second thing she saw when she turned her head to take a better look at her surroundings was Vicky. Vicky was sitting with her back to the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms on top of her knees and her head lying on her arms.

"Vicky?" Lily croaked finally.

Vicky's head shot up quickly. "You're alive! Oh, I thought you were going to die and I didn't have a wand so I couldn't help, and Merlin, it's awful!"

"Where are we?" asked Lily, who slowly and painstakingly lifted herself off of the floor where she had been thrown unceremoniously. However, as soon as Lily had stood up, the not wholly healed wound on her stomach forced her to sit back down.

Vicky watched all this with interest and at last said, "I don't know."

"How long have we been here?" asked Lily as she eased herself into a sitting position up against the cold wall which sent shivers up her spine.

"I don't have a watch, so I don't know. But it's got to have been hours, maybe even a whole day. You've been out of it the whole time," remarked Vicky.

Lily nodded slowly, taking this all into consideration. She tried to process the information as Dumbledore had taught her, but her pain was getting in the way. Although she had managed to stop the bleeding and speed up the natural healing process, she was by no means healed.

So Lily decided to speak aloud, hoping that her cellmate might prove as intelligent under pressure as she was in class. "There is one door with one tiny window with bars, no other windows or other visible escape routes. We have both been abducted from the train station in London by men in black cloaks and masks, probably Death Eaters. So doubtless we are in the mansion of an old family who supports Voldemort; a family old enough and rich enough to have a dungeon. Perhaps the Blacks, maybe the Malfoys, the Lestranges are a possibility…"

"But what difference does it make which family it is?" interrupted Vicky.

"Point taken," conceded Lily. "Though maybe if I knew the family I could think of possible escape routes, contacts, and figure out where we are in the country or if we are even still in Great Britain. How many times were you apparated to get here?"

"Just once, but again, why does any of that matter? I've heard that you're a muggleborn; what would you know about any of the purebloods?"

"Not much," admitted Lily. "But how much do you know about any of this? I'm willing to bet that you have no idea why you are sitting here, especially next to me, a person you seem to especially hate though I'm not sure why, instead of being returned to your school by a long and uncomfortable floo journey."

Vicky crumbled, but who wouldn't? Tears trickled down her face as she brokenly said, "I have no idea! What is going on? Does this have anything to do with all those attacks that the newspaper just glosses over?"

Lily sighed and said, "It has everything to do with that. And I think the thing behind those attacks wants to ensure that the Ministry won't receive any international help by killing, hurting and holding international students hostage. In fact, I bet that allowing Britain into the annual exchange was Voldemort's doing. It seems a bit too much of a coincidence otherwise… and then the fact that Richard was sent to Hogwarts… and conspicuously absent on the platform…"

Lily's explanation became more and more just mutterings to herself, causing Vicky to look confused and finally say, "I still don't understand what's going on."

"I don't either, not really."

"So what do we do then?" asked Vicky, who was not used to sitting back or being helpless.

"I assume that you've already pounded on the door and found it unyielding?"

Vicky nodded.

"Then I propose we sit here and chat to pass the time until we are tortured, killed or released. Well actually we won't be released, though we might be rescued. Anyways, hello, my name is Lily. I'm a seventh year at Hogwarts. I am seventeen years old and my favorite flavor of ice cream is mint chocolate chip."

"How can you just sit there and make pointless conversation?" asked Vicky jumping up.

"I am sitting because as you recently saw, I an unable to stand," remarked Lily dryly.

"How can you just accept this?! We're going to die! Don't you care?!" yelled Vicky in frustration.

"Of course I care!" shouted Lily. "It was just yesterday or maybe it was today that James and I started dating… and I never got to say good-bye to my sisters or friends… or take my N.E.W.T.'s or graduate or go to a university or do anything with my life! Seventeen years wasted! Completely wasted!"

"I kinda feel the same way," said Vicky softening. "Like there's so much I wanted to do, but just never did. Everyone has always told me to live as if every day was my last, but I never did. What would you have done differently yesterday if you had known this is where you'd be today?"

Lily patted the hard stone floor next to her, which Vicky gladly sat down on, and said, "Probably written several letters because I'm too much of a chicken to say anything to anyone's face. Then I probably would have just lived my day the exact same way as I always do."

"I'd like to think that I would have been brave enough to tell everyone how I really felt about them, and have done something completely crazy and memorable, but I probably would have done the same thing you said," replied Vicky honestly.

"What would do you if Remus was here instead of me?" asked Lily.

"Probably would tell him that I think he's really sweet and cute and even though he probably doesn't like me back, I'd snog him senseless. Well at least I hope I'd snog him senseless; I've never actually snogged someone before, so maybe I'm really bad at it," Vicky confided in Lily. "Have you ever been kissed?"

Lily thought about lying, but then realized that there was no point in lying, "Yeah."

"Really?" whined Vicky. "Why am I the only unattractive girl in the entire world?"

"You're not unattractive," said Lily kindly. "In fact, I have been told that a certain Gryffindor boy in my year wouldn't mind being locked up here with you."

"I do not want to be locked up with Potter!" joked Vicky. "Though I bet you wouldn't mind."

"Not particularly, especially since he would probably know where we are and what to do about it. He's pretty good at getting himself into and out of trouble. But anyways, why do you hate him so much?" asked Lily curiously.

Vicky looked over at Lily and said carefully, "You seem to like him a lot and everything, but he seems like such a jerk. Like he's always making fun of people and he's so arrogant and conceited. He also shows off all the time and he's always bragging about his grades, and Quidditch. Don't you see that?"

Lily thought over what Vicky said for a moment and then answered, "I really don't think he's like that, but I see where you're coming from because I used to say the same things about him. I believe my favorite phrase was 'arrogant bullying toerag.'"

"I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree," said Vicky.

"Alright," agreed Lily.

"So what was your first kiss like?" asked Vicky after a short pause.

"You know, I don't even really remember. It wasn't romantic or memorable like in stories and books. I'm still waiting for my official first kiss, you know, one that actually gives me butterflies in my stomach and makes my foot pop up."

"At least you've been kissed," grumbled Vicky good-naturedly.

"Moving on, if you were an animagus, what form would you hope you turned out to be?" asked Lily.

"Something small enough to fit through the crack under the door or through the bars on the little window in the door and has wings so I can get out of here. What about you?"

"Oh, ummm… same I guess. But I wouldn't want to be a bug or anything, so maybe I'd wish for the bars to be bigger and I'd be a bird."

"Like a canary or a robin or something?"

"Not something bigger and dangerous like a falcon or a hawk or an eagle or something like that."

Vicky grinned, "So you could rip off the heads of the people who put us in here?"

Lily grinned and laughed, "Exactly!"

Then Vicky asked her cellmate, "So what's your favorite kind of cookie?"

Not even pausing to realize that such questions were kind of odd, Lily replied, "Chocolate chip. What's your favorite scent of hand lotion?"

"Strawberry. What's your favorite cuisine?"

"Italian," said Lily as a smile drifted onto her face. Even though she was forced to go on so many dates with spineless, personality-less pretty boys, the positive side was that she got to eat in expensive restaurants for most of her meals. Also, because most of her dates were unimaginative, they usually took her to classy Italian places, her favorite. "If someone wrote your biography what do you think it should be titled?"

"And Then Disaster Struck; Its Name Was Vicky," Vicky with only a moment of thought. "Would you rather live by an ocean or on top of a mountain?"

"The ocean I think. What color hair does your dream guy have?"

"Dirty blonde," answered Vicky without a moment's hesitation.

"Kind of like Remus Lupin's hair?" asked Lily before Vicky could ask a question.

Vicky smiled and blushed. "Kind of… I guess something like that…" she muttered.

"I think you two would be very cute together," Lily said quietly.

"Even though I think he's a jerk, I think you and Potter are cute together too. He obviously cares about you."

"You think?" asked the ever-insecure Lily.

"Lily, I don't know much about relationships, but I have four older brothers and I have seen how they looked at girls they really cared about and girls they only liked because they were pretty. Potter looks at you like you're someone he really cares about," said Vicky firmly but gently.

Lily was quiet for a minute and then said, "Thanks Vicky; that really means a lot to me. I just wish I hadn't tried to avoid him and his feelings for me for so long."

"I kinda wish that I had told Remus that I kinda like him more than just friends," sighed Vicky.

"I finally admitted it to James."

"Does it feel any different? That he knows that you like him?"

Trying not to cry, Lily said, "Yeah it does; it really does. At the very least I know that he knew. But then again it kinda makes me sad because if I died and he thought that I only thought of us as friends, then maybe it wouldn't hurt him so much."

"But did telling him how you feel really change how he feels? If you think about it, it might have hurt him more if you died without telling him because then he'd be stuck with all of the 'if only's' and 'could-have-been's', and I bet that that would hurt a lot more," said Vicky very rationally.

Lily felt that her entire rationale behind her approach to James and her relationship with him had shifted dramatically, possibly into an entirely different solar system. She was silent for several minutes, and then finally brokenly said, "I… I just didn't want to see him get hurt! I thought I was doing the right thing, but then I didn't care anymore! Then I just really wanted to date him! But either way he gets hurt! Vicky, I really really care about him! I don't want to die!"

Vicky put her arm around Lily and rubbed her back soothingly. She also let Lily put her head on her shoulder and just cry. Within minutes Vicky was crying too. Lily reached her arm around Vicky's shoulders and they cried for everything and everyone they could lose at any minute. There was no point in being brave anymore.

-----

"Professor! Where are Lily and Peter?" asked James, out of breath as he finally caught up to Dumbledore. Dumbledore had just returned from St. Mungo's where all of the students that Sirius had helped to hide were being checked out for any injuries. He had been heading to the House common rooms, where the students had been sent as per procedure, when James caught up to him.

Calmly Dumbledore turned to James and said, "I'm sorry James, but they are among the missing currently."

"What?! No! That's not possible! Lily's the brightest witch I know! If anyone could survive it's her! And Peter, no he can't be gone!" yelled James in disbelief.

"I know this must be hard on you, but just keep hoping for the best. There are three teams of Aurors currently searching for Lily, Peter and the other missing students," said Dumbledore, trying to comfort his devastated student.

"How can I help?"

"I need you to address all of the prefects in my office. The password is phoenix feather. Once everyone is there briefly explain what occurred at the train station and assign patrolling areas. Everyone is to patrol in groups of three. If any group finds something, anything, out of the ordinary they are to send up red sparks with their wands and find one of the patrolling teachers immediately. Inform them that they are not to separate for any reason. Also, any student found in the corridors is to be escorted back to their common room and fifty points will be taken from their house. Any questions?" asked Dumbledore hurriedly.

James shook his head slowly. He was very disappointed that he wasn't able to actually do anything to directly help Lily and Peter.

"Alright then, I have already spoken to the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, so those prefects should already be on their way. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws will arrive shortly. And James?" said the Headmaster as James turned to walk to Dumbledore's office.

"Yes sir?"

"They will find them," he said, sounding confident.

"Yes sir," said James with much less assurance in his voice.

As Dumbledore had said, soon all of the prefects were gathered in the Headmaster's office. Remus was the last one in and once he entered, he went directly to James, who was standing by himself staring pensively out of the window.

"Dumbledore told me to give this to you. He said that it's a list he just received from St. Mungo's confirming all of the students that were admitted there, and the bodies that were identified," explained Remus as he handed over the folded paper.

James took it with a shaking hand. He didn't want to see Lily's and Peter's names in the list of the missing; that would make it real. However, he did open it and scanned the names. Then, when he thought it couldn't get worse, it did. Right under Lily's name was Vicky's and a couple of names below that was Peter's name.

"Remus, did you read this?" asked James sharply.

"No why?" asked Remus worriedly.

"I think you should see it," said James. He was unable to tell Remus that the girl Remus fancied was also missing.

Remus' eyes found Lily's name first. He stopped there and looked at James and said, "Mate, I'm so sorry. But Lily's so smart; she'll find a way out."

"Keep reading," whispered James, who found that he could no longer look Remus in the eye.

"Oh Merlin! No! Not her!" said Remus weakly as his voice failed him. "And Peter too!"

"I'm sorry mate," said James, echoing Remus' earlier statement.

"At least they aren't on the deceased list, right?" said Remus feebly.

"Right," said James.

"Well, the troops are awaiting your orders Mr. Head Boy sir," said Remus, attempting at humor to ease his pain.

James nodded and walked to the front of the gathered prefects. He elaborated on what Dumbledore had told all of the students and gave them their instructions. Because there were only 25 prefects, James and Remus decided to patrol together and James appointed the two seventh year Slytherin prefects to patrol together.

James and Remus began their patrol in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, James broke the silence by asking Remus, "Do you think they'll be okay? Honestly."

"Honestly?" asked Remus as he looked up towards the ceiling to avoid looked at James. "I don't know, but I really hope so."

"Me too," said James, his pain evident in his voice. "I don't know what I'll do without her."

"Vicky was going to come back to England," said Remus dully.

"She was going to come back for you," James pointed out, hoping that he could lift Remus' spirits.

"Nah," said Remus dismissively. "She really liked London and she's always wanted to live in Europe and the Auror Program here is really good."

"So is the program in France and I'm sure that she would like Paris just as much as she liked London, but there's only one thing that's missing in France that is here in England and that's you mate. Don't put yourself down," said James.

Remus sighed. "Not that any of that matters now. She might never get to go anywhere."

"Scary thought, isn't it?"

"That and that she might… you know… I might never see her again and she'll never know that I really fancied her but didn't have the guts to ask her out."

"It doesn't really matter; I asked Lily out and I could still lose her."

"But she knows; she knows that you fancy her, and you know that she knows. I might be stuck with the 'what-ifs' forever," said Remus sadly.

"Let's just hope that it doesn't come to that," suggested James.

"Yeah," Remus agreed sullenly. "Let's hope."

Then the two friends drifted back into a silence that lasted until they met Dumbledore two hours later.

"Hello boys, I trust all is well?" asked the Headmaster.

"Yes Professor. Any news about the missing students?" asked James.

"Nine of the students were delivered to the Ministry; all of them were dead. They have all been identified, and none of them were Peter, Lily or Vicky."

"How many are still missing Professor?" inquired Remus.

"Seventeen," answered the only man sadly. "The Aurors are doing the best they can and they think they may have some idea where the students are being held."

"Professor, it's already been almost eight hours; is there really any chance that they're still alive?" asked James desperately.

"I hope that if my students only learn one thing here it is that there is always hope," said Dumbledore with a bittersweet serenity in his voice. "Since it has been determined that there is no immediate threat on the school, the lockdown is now officially over. So, please return to your dormitories and try to get some sleep. If there are any updates I will be sure to get in touch with you both."

James and Remus nodded numbly and started to walk away.

As they walked away, Dumbledore said, "Oh and if any students are wondering, anyone who happens to wander off the grounds in the next few days or so, regardless of their intentions, will face immediate expulsion."

"Yes sir," said Remus and James together, knowing that the comment was aimed at them.

"Were you going to sneak out to go rescue them?" asked James after they were out of earshot.

"I wouldn't know the first place to look, but if I had some idea of where to go… I don't know. Would you?" asked Remus.

"I'd like to say that I would be out of here in a minute if I knew where to go, but I'm not quite sure if I'm stupid enough to actually go through with that. I'm just an average wizard; I wasn't even brave enough to stick around in the battle. Maybe if I had then Peter and Lily and Vicky wouldn't be missing right now," said James, finally admitting what had been eating away at him for hours.

"What happened back there?" asked Remus cautiously.

"As soon as we met up with the Hogwarts students we were ambushed. Lily, Sirius, Peter and I ducked into a loo and then Lily took charge. She ordered Padfoot and I to apparate to Hogsmeade. Sirius was in charge of hiding the students and I was supposed to get help," said James.

"What you did was important. They would probably all be dead if Dumbledore didn't get the information when he did."

"But if I was a better wizard then Lily wouldn't have sent me away; she would have wanted me to stay with her and help her to protect the students. Dumbledore shouldn't have made me Head Boy. Anyone would be better, braver than me! I don't even deserve to be a Gryffindor!" said James dismally.

Remus stopped short and turned to James. "Mate, don't be so hard on yourself. For Merlin's sake, you're only seventeen! You don't have to be a super hero!"

"But Lily was so brave! She is always so brave and cool under pressure."

"I think that Lily's just one of those people who is at her best when everyone else is at their worst. And she just makes it up as she goes along. She told me that after I nearly, umm… mauled her. She's really a remarkable person," said Remus quietly.

"I think a lot of people don't see that about her."

"She's not the easiest person to really get to know, our very own resident Ice Queen. I don't blame her though. I would have given up on life long ago if I had to deal with half the stuff she does," said Remus thoughtfully.

James stared at his friend and said disbelievingly, "Are you listening to yourself? You have more stuff to deal with than anyone I know. A lot of people have to deal with the same stuff you do, but I have never heard of anyone that deals as well as you do."

"Thanks Prongs," said Remus who was warmed by his friend's heart-felt sentiment, even if it wasn't very articulate.

"Anytime Moony."

-----

Finally Lily and Vicky fell into an uneasy sleep, their heads resting up against one another and dried tears on their cheeks. Then they were suddenly awoken when the door to their cell was thrown open and hit the wall with a resounding bang.

"So I'm told that there's a pretty little mudblood who doesn't know her place in here," said an older man with long, straight white blonde hair. "The one with the red hair," the man instructed his lackeys.

Two men entered the cell, roughly picked Lily up and led her out. Once she was in the dimly lit hallway, the man closed and locked the door before Vicky could react. Then he turned to Lily and asked condescendingly, "Why aren't you screaming and crying and begging me for mercy?"

"Would it help?" asked Lily calmly, though on the inside she was screaming.

"No, I actually find that cries of anguish motivate me," said the man cruelly as he started walking away down the hall. His minions, leading Lily, followed him.

After traveling through a series of staircases and hallways, the silent procession came to a pair of very ornate and decorative wooden double doors. Even under the terrible circumstances, Lily had a slight feeling of awe for the beautiful paneling on the doors, until she realized how incredibly gruesome the depicted scene sprawled across the two doors truly was. It was a scene of wizards riding centaurs and hunting others beasts, like werewolves, vampires, trolls, dwarves, and gnomes, and of course everywhere glorified snakes were intricately carved into the wood.

The man in charge opened the doors and walked into a large room that was lavishly decorated with floor-to-ceiling, hand carved book shelves, delicate chairs and sofas upholstered in rich velvets and a massive mahogany desk that seemed to dominate the room. Despite the fire in the fireplace that was big enough to roast a hippogriff, there seemed to be a chilliness in the room.

"We'll be outside sir," said the guards as Lily was shoved inside. They quickly left the room and closed the doors securely behind them.

The man seated himself behind his desk and said, "Won't you have a seat?"

Lily didn't reply but, thinking that it was in her best interest to obey, complied with his wishes.

"Now Miss Evans, do you know why you are here?"

Lily shook her head 'no'; she was afraid that if she spoke he would hear the fear in her voice.

The man's temporarily congenial manner suddenly became very harsh and cold. "It is because you and the rest of the filthy people like you don't know your place! You think that you are worth giving an education to and being treated like a real person with actual feelings, but you aren't. The only people who really matter in this world are the pure-bloods! From wherever people like you go when they die you shall see," he said, his voice once more calm and reserved, "the destruction of your entire world right before your very eyes. Everyone you know and love will fall, all because you thought that you had enough worth to go to Hogwarts and learn how to be a witch. It will be all your fault."

"Why me?" asked Lily shakily. "There are so many other muggleborns, why are you targeting me?"

"Because you are offensive to both myself and the Dark Lord. Dumbledore fairly signed the order for your death when he made you Head Girl. There are so many other more qualified, worthy girls that could have been given the honor, but that fool Dumbledore gave it to you, you a lowly mudblood! For your foolishness and disgrace to the name of wizard you shall pay," threatened the man as he stood up quickly. "Crucio!"

Lily fell off of the wooden chair in which she had been sitting tensely and hit the ground hard, though she didn't even feel it because of the waves of pain that were cascading over her entire body. Lily convulsed and writhed on the ground, her screams echoing throughout the house and causing chills in everyone with half a heart. Lily had never felt so much pain in her life. Finally after one terrible minute, sixty agonizing seconds, the cruel man lifted the horrendous curse. Lily couldn't move; all she could do was sob and silently pray for death because even death would be better than feeling so sore all over.

Lily was faintly aware that there were the sounds of a scuffle outside of the doors of the office. What she was more aware of however, was that the man behind the desk had heard the sounds and had identified them. This led him to again put the Cruciatus Curse on Lily.

A moment later the doors had been blasted off of their hinges and several men in auror robes had rushed in. Their leader disarmed the man, bound him magically and said with pleasure apparent in his voice, "Abraxas Malfoy you are hereby under arrest for imprisoning several witches and wizards, perjury, and the use of an Unforgivable Curse."

As the man, who Lily vaguely recognized as Alastor Moody from the pictures in the Prophet, escorted her tormentor to the Ministry, he barked to the others, "Find the others and get them and her to Mungo's now!"

Two of the men walked over to Lily and were trying to pick her up when she began screaming, the pain of their touch was unbearable on her damaged muscles. She closed her eyes to try and block out the situation.

"She needs immediate attention," whispered one.

"Yeah that heartless Malfoy can do the Cruciatus Curse almost as well as You-Know-Who himself I've heard."

"I'm just glad that Moody finally caught him in the act."

"How do we get her out of here?"

Just then a third voice entered the picture, "Why don't you boys head out with the others and try to find where the kids are being kept. I'll take care of her."

"Yes sir," said the two young men. Lily heard them hurry to catch up with the others.

Gently Lily was levitated onto a cozy armchair. Gingerly she opened her eyes and saw a man who was squatting down so that he was at her eye level.

"James?" she asked in a whisper.

"No," said the man with a chuckle. "James is my son. I'm Christopher Potter. What's your name?"

"Lily Evans," she said quietly.

Christopher grinned. "I've heard quite a bit about you. Well anyways, here Lily have some chocolate. I find it's very useful stuff, so I always carry some with me, a fact that James and Sirius frequently take advantage of."

Mr. Potter took a wrapped bar of Honeydukes chocolate out of his pocket and broke off a small piece. He put it in Lily's hand and she shakily put it into her mouth.

"There now," he said fatherly. "You'll be just fine."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. Then he conjured up a chair, similar to the one Lily was sitting in, and sat down across from her. "So tell me Lily, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Three sisters," she said softly.

Christopher whistled lowly. "Your poor dad; I don't know what I would do with a house full of women. I'm lucky because Sirius, James and I outnumber my wife. I don't think taking votes would work so well for you dad."

Lily laughed, but then grimaced.

"Have another piece," said Mr. Potter. "Pain-relief potions don't work nearly as well as chocolate for the Cruciatus curse."

Lily held out her hand for the offered piece of chocolate, but then she began coughing violently. When she took her hand away from her mouth, she saw that there were flecks of blood on her palm.

It was then that Mr. Potter perceived that the darker area on Lily's sweatshirt wasn't someone else's blood that had gotten on her during the battle, but hers.

"Let me see," he said commandingly.

Lily lifted up her shirt and sweatshirt slowly, revealing the scar on her abdomen that was clearly agitated.

"It was from the attack," Lily explained. "I healed some of it before I was captured and they took my wand away."

Nodding, Mr. Potter said, "I think you initially sustained some internal injuries that have been reopened by the Cruciatus curse. We'll just head over to St. Mungo's and get you checked out."

"Okay," agreed Lily as she took Mr. Potter's hand and stood up. At first her knees buckled under her weight, but Christopher didn't let her fall, nor did he pick her up like a helpless invalid. He just helped her to support herself by placing an arm around her shoulders. She was very thankful to Mr. Potter that he didn't make her feel even more helpless and weak than she already did.

Slowly the pair made their way to the main hallway where an auror came up to them and said, "We found them Christopher, the other sixteen were all there. They all say that they weren't seriously hurt, just a few cuts and burns here and there, but the others are escorting them up here and then apparating to St. Mungo's for precautionary measures."

"Good, good, I'll leave Miss Lily Evans in your capable hands then. I believe that I am more needed at Hogwarts where a certain Gryffindor seventh year is anxiously waiting for news," said Mr. Potter with a warm smile at Lily as he changed positions with the other auror.

"Say hi to him for me," said Lily as Mr. Potter walked quickly towards the door so he could get to the apparition point.

"Will do!" he called over his shoulder.

"Hi Lily, I'm Brian," said the auror that was now helping her.

"Hi," said Lily.

"So you go to Hogwarts?"

"I'm a seventh year."

"Best years of my life were at Hogwarts; enjoy it while you still can."

"Yeah."

"I was a Hufflepuff."

"I'm a Gryffindor."

"Is McGonagall still teaching?"

As Lily and the auror exited the mansion, engaged in small talk, Lucius Malfoy stood on the balcony that overlooked the entrance hall. He was staring at a certain red-headed young woman out of the large window on the second floor. As well as sending her a glare, under his breath Lucius promised to avenge his father. If it hadn't been for Lily's screams, the aurors wouldn't have been led to the study, and his father would have been able to convinced the aurors that there weren't any students hidden in the dungeon. If it hadn't been for Lily, his father would not now be disgracing the entire family by being arrested and put into jail.

"I will make you pay Lily Evans," hissed Malfoy. "You will suffer."