Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter or Harry Potter related copyrights.
Before you move onto the next chapter, I would just like to apologize for making the prank war so boring. I really did try to keep it short and entertaining (at first I was going to write an entry for each day! Aren't you glad I cut it short?), but I can understand how it could get tedious. However, I would like to point out that the Prank War did make almost the whole summer pass by in one chapter; my beta and I agree that that is certainly a record for me since I can and have dragged one weekend out into three or four chapters. So now we are on to bigger and better things!
Enjoy the drama that is just a few lines away!
"I can't believe that you did that," spoke Remus, who was still in shock.
Lily smiled smugly. "I can be pretty persuasive."
"But- but, you got me the job…"
"As well as a few days off a month to visit your sick grandmother in Germany," added Lily.
"It's even the job I wanted…" he trailed off and then turned to Lily beaming. "You are my favorite person ever!"
Lily laughed as he hugged her tightly in the middle of Diagon Alley. Annoyed witches and wizards circumnavigated the pair grumbling about kids these days.
"It's the least I could do after you helped me to win the prank war," Lily told him as they continued down the street, Remus's arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture.
"I will always remember the look on their faces when they had to surrender," mused Remus fondly.
"It was good for them," said Lily.
"Just imagine what we could have done if James hadn't been a jerk to you the first day of first year- we could have all been friends and terrorized the school!"
Lily laughed lightly. "I don't think the teachers could have handled that; the four of you were a big enough problem."
"You and James constantly shouting at each other was a bit of a handful too," Remus reminded her.
"True," Lily conceded.
"Come on, let's get some ice cream on me," announced Remus grandly. "It's a celebration!"
Unfortunately Lily and Remus didn't make it to Florean's; halfway there they were interrupted by the arrival of a dozen cloaked figures. For a moment all the teen pair could do was stare as the intimidating line of black approached them, beams of light and screams preceding them. Then Remus suddenly came to his senses and grabbed Lily's hand.
"Run!" he shouted to her.
She stared at the Death Eaters for another second, but then responded to the tug on her hand and followed Remus.
"We have to hide!" gasped Remus. "Anti-apparition wards are already up!"
"Where should we go?" asked Lily, her eyes wide with fear.
Remus cast his gaze widely around and finally pulled Lily toward Flourish and Blott's, his new place of employment. "This way!"
Lily and Remus were not the only ones who were seeking safety; everyone was terrified by the screams and destruction that already filled Diagon Alley. And because it was a Saturday at the end of the summer, the shopping center was filled with over a hundred Hogwarts students and their families. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to make it into any store, even one as big as the bookstore. After shoving and elbowing as much as the next person, Lily and Remus entered the store and took cover behind a bookcase in the middle of the store.
"We can't just sit here and wait to be killed," muttered Lily as she struggled to get her heartbeat and breathing under control.
"You know who's going to be killed? Me! Because when we get back to James's he is going to kill me for getting you caught in the middle of a Death Eater attack!" shouted Remus.
"Let's concentrate on getting back before we think of that," said Lily rationally, already strategizing. "Can't apparate… trying to floo is probably just like standing in a line to be killed… have the aurors been contacted? There are only twelve Death Eaters… or there were only twelve two minutes ago… the second floor of the store would be a good sniping spot…"
Suddenly Lily stood up and pulled Remus up with her, "Come on!" she said excitedly. "We're going to help!"
Lily shoved her way up the narrow staircase and cut through the crowd so that she was up against the glass window that took up most of the front wall of the bookstore's second floor. Many times Lily had sat in an armchair in front of that window just reading… today was not such a peaceful day.
Quietly Lily carved out a piece of the glass so that she and Remus would have enough of a range to shoot spells at the unsuspecting criminals below. At first both recent graduates missed their targets by several inches each time, but after about fifteen tries they began to hit. Several Death Eaters went down, but others had arrived from Knockturn Alley and were not yet distracted by the torture of innocent shoppers. They saw the two Gryffindors in the window, and smiling cruelly, two of them summoned the teens.
Remus and Lily smashed through the rest of the glass and found themselves at the feet of two very cruel people.
"Oh look," cooed a female voice. "It's one of ickle Sirius's friends and the Mudblood Head Girl. They were trying to be heroes, how… disgusting."
The female, who Remus identified easily as Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius's demented cousin who had been a sixth year during their first, nodded to her companion and together they turned on their prey.
Lily and Remus screamed in unison. Lily was put under a full body bind and then raised into the air, only to swiftly come down a moment later. Bellatrix favored a more traditional approach, so Remus was subjected to the Cruciatus Curse.
Lily and Remus were in agony until finally the aurors rushed into the alley, streaming through the arch behind the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily for the pair, their tormentors had their backs to the approaching saviors and didn't bother to flee with their new Gryffindor punching bags.
Lily was never so relived to see Christopher Potter in her entire life. He stunned the man who had been cursing her, and the pain stopped. Unfortunately, by the time he turned to Bellatrix, the retreat signal had been sent into the sky and the anti-apparition wards went down. Bellatrix got away.
"Get these two to Mungo's!" Potter shouted to his team as he continued on, hoping to catch more Death Eaters before they all escaped.
Lily looked around for Remus, but her movement was limited and she couldn't find him. She began to feel cold, but managed to remain conscious. But then a rushing civilian stepped on her right hand with a heavy boot, shattering it. She felt the surge of pain for a moment, but then self-preservation took charge and she blacked out.
Not far away Remus was already passed out. He had a feeling that Bellatrix took her frustration on her traitorous cousin out on his best friend. Or that's what he gathered when she was yelling such things at him.
Luckily for the two friends, they were saved from being squashed by the terrified stampede of pedestrians by a couple of aurors. Soon they joined almost eighty victims at St. Mungo's. They were among the more seriously injured; most Death Eaters had concentrated on causing as much destruction as possible, so they blew up buildings and cast curses randomly into crowds. Few were as sadistic as Bellatrix and her husband who liked to pick just a few victims and break them.
By the time Lily and Remus woke up almost eleven hours after the attack, the hospital had been mostly cleared of those injured in the attack.
The first thing Lily was aware of was a hand in hers. Within even opening her eyes she knew who the hand belonged to; she smiled softly. When she did open her eyes she was surprised to see that James wasn't the only one keeping watch over her. Mrs. Potter was in an armchair to her right calmly completing a crossword puzzle, and Alice was curled up and sleeping at the end of her bed.
Lily lightly squeezed James's hand, alerting him that she was awake. He quickly snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at her, relief evident in his eyes.
"Hello love," he said quietly.
Lily just smiled back. Her throat was raw from screaming and since just breathing was painful, she decided to speak as little as possible.
James's words caught his mother's attention immediately. Abandoning her puzzle, she quickly snapped into mom mode and began to fret. "Oh Lily dear, you're awake! Are you in any pain? Do you have enough pillows? Do you want some water? Do you need an extra blanket?"
"I'm fine," said Lily in a hoarse and raspy whisper.
Marilyn halted her rapid questions and just smiled softly. "I'll just get the healer for you then."
"How's Remus?" Lily asked James once Mrs. Potter had left.
"He's seen better days," James admitted carefully. "He woke up about an hour ago. Peter and Sirius are with him now; they're having a good time because he's all drugged up on painkillers and saying some very interesting things.
"Speaking of painkillers, the healers will probably bring some for you in a minute, once the aurors get your story anyway. I don't know why they need it, you and Remus were together and they already have his story…"
Christopher interrupted his son. "Because every point of view is different and we need all of the angles we can get. Even the smallest details can help us to make Diagon Alley, and all of Britain, a safer place. Now James, I'm afraid that you and Alice must leave Lily's bedside so that I can question her."
James picked up the petite form of Alice easily and carried her out.
Christopher drew the currents around Lily's bed and cast a silencing charm so that the other patients wouldn't overhear anything.
Mr. Potter handed Lily a small vial filled with a honey-colored liquid. "Now I know that your throat probably hurts, and I can't give you anything but this mild soothing potion, but I would appreciate it if you would answer all of my questions in as much detail as possible." The auror tapped his quill and parchment with his wand and the two floated into the air, ready to go.
"August 24, 1978, 3:09 a.m., St. Mungo's Hospital Room fourth floor, Potter ward," Christopher dictated professionally. "Please state your full name."
"Lillian Marissa Evans," said Lily quietly. To her relief it was loud enough for the quill to record.
"What were you doing at Diagon Alley yesterday?"
"Helping a friend get a job. We were going to get ice cream to celebrate when the Death Eaters arrived."
"How many Death Eaters do you think there were?"
"Twelve at first, but more came within minutes and I lost count."
"Where did they come from?"
"Knockturn Alley."
"What did you do when they arrived?"
"Hid in Flourish and Blott's and then tried to attack a few from the second floor."
Mr. Potter didn't look surprised; he had already heard this story from Remus. "Did you hit anyone?"
"A few, but the only spell I could think of was Stupefy and I doubt they were stunned for long."
"Every little bit counts," Mr. Potter assured her. "You never know, you might have saved a life today by just doing one small act. How did you end up in the hands of a Death Eater?"
"They saw us and summoned us."
"And then?" prompted Mr. Potter.
"Tortured us," said Lily dully.
"I won't ask you to describe it, but I do need to know if Unforgiveables were used."
"Yes."
"Cruciatus?" he guessed.
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea as to who your attackers were? Did they drop any names at all?"
Lily thought for a moment. "One of them recognized me… and Remus. It was a woman and she knew Sirius Black. I don't remember her name, but I think she may have been at Hogwarts with me, maybe four or five years older."
"And the other?"
"He didn't say much, let the woman do all the talking. But you should know who he is. Didn't you capture him?"
Auror Potter sadly said, "No, after he was stunned, one of his comrades grabbed him and apparated away before we could get him. I'm sorry."
Lily just nodded, too disappointed to say anything.
"Just one last question: do you have any suggestions to make Diagon Alley safer?"
Lily thought for a few minutes while Mr. Potter waited patiently. He knew that her answer would be worth the wait.
"Establish escape routes. Posting them wouldn't do any good because Death Eaters would use it to their advantage, but put trustworthy shopkeepers in charge of directing everyone. I would also post aurors around to help with the evacuation. Also create a few massive connections to the Floo network; that would allow families to stay together and hopefully keep things moving so that people wouldn't be easy targets while they're trying to escape.
"Also, I believe that the anti-apparition wards were controlled by one person because they went up and down so quickly. That means two things, if you find and take out that person the wards will go down, and the wards can't be very strong. Probably strong enough to keep people from apparating, but it's likely that if anyone who was trained to break spells could keep their wits about them in an attack they could break the wards.
"And finally I would suggest giving the general public a refresher course in Defense Against the Dark Arts. People don't need to know how to attack an opponent; if they could simply defend themselves until help arrived, I think there would be far fewer injuries and deaths."
Christopher grinned. He had interviewed twenty people after the attack, but was disappointed every time he had asked his last question. Most people told him that they were simply going to avoid Diagon Alley all together and just do their shopping by owl. The rest had ridiculous suggestions like conducting background checks before each person was allowed into Diagon Alley or having an auror escort each family around the shopping center; like the aurors didn't have enough to do! Only Lily had come up with logical and probably effective ideas. He was growing to like her more and more each day.
"That should be all Miss Evans, thank you for your time," he concluded. He tapped the parchment again and it rolled itself up and joined several other scrolls in his briefcase; the quill followed.
"So how are you feeling Lily?" he asked; the auror attitude and tone had been replaced by a more compassionate and fatherly approach.
"Awful," she replied honestly.
"I'll let the healers know they can give you the rest of your potions now. I'm sorry that you had to wait, but our policy is to interrogate people before their perceptions are altered by any medications."
"S'ok," she mumbled, even though it really wasn't. She was only barely holding herself together. Every muscle hurt and several were throbbing. She was fairly certain that a fair amount of bones had been broken and a few ribs bruised. Lily didn't even want to think about her right hand; it was wrapped tightly with gauze, but still swollen to twice its normal size.
"Here," Mr. Potter said kindly as he pulled two chocolate bars out of a pocket of his robes. "Take these and eat them to wash down the taste of your potions. I've had probably all of them over the years and I will not lie to you- they are all foul. Luckily chocolate doesn't alter any potion known to wizardkind."
"Thanks."
"My pleasure. Now I'm going to go fetch the healer and I'll send James and Alice back in. I'm glad to see you're on the mend Lily," he said, departing with a smile.
Marilyn, Alice, Sirius, James, and Peter stayed as long as they were allowed, but even the Potter influence couldn't allow them to stay more than an hour after their friends were out of critical care. The Potter influence did provide for them to be placed in the same room when they were transferred to the intermediate ward though.
After their friends had left, Lily and Remus kept each other entertained. "I Spy" quickly became boring because nearly everything was white, but they kept up a game of "Would you Rather" for hours. The questions they asked each other ranged from the ridiculous ("Would you rather eat a blast-ended skrewt or the Giant Squid?") to the practical, ("Would you rather be in the hospital right now or be a coward who didn't fight at all?") and everything in between ("Would you rather eat a bucket filled with butter or sugar?").
The whole situation just reinforced a fact that Lily and Remus knew already, nothing was as bad when your friends were beside you.
-----
After Lily and Remus were released from the hospital the next morning, fully healed, though still a little sore, James didn't let Lily out of his sight for more than a few minutes. The reason was two-fold: he was panicking after she had been attacked at Diagon Alley and afraid that she wouldn't be safe without him, and he knew that he was going to have to leave her to go to Auror training in less than a week and she would be leaving for her school two weeks later.
Many moments the couple spent with Sirius, but more often than not, they left him alone. Bored, he often bothered either Remus or Peter at their jobs or moped around the house.
Many afternoons were spent lazily on a blanket by the lake, both Lily and James content to cuddle and watch the clouds go by. At night they frequented both wizarding and muggle restaurants throughout England. The couple also squeezed concerts, and Quidditch games into their busy schedule. The whirlwind week ended with frenzied packing the night of September 1, the day before the start of the year at the Auror Academy.
As the minutes ticked by James grew more and more frantic. He felt as if he was wasting his time spending it with his clothes and possessions; unlike Lily he would be seeing them everyday. Soon he decided that he didn't care what was packed. He called a House Elf, thrust the list of necessary supplies that the Academy had sent him at her and told her to pack whatever.
Relieved James shot out of his room and jogged throughout the mansion looking for Lily. Her laughter revealed her location soon enough. He spent a moment in the doorway staring at the scene in front of him in awe.
Sirius, Lily, and his parents were sitting around a small table and playing a muggle card game. He had never seen his parents play any sort of game before, never mind a muggle game!
Lily was nearly glowing with excitement; Christopher looked more relaxed than he had in years, and Marilyn had a smile that would have made the Cheshire Cat jealous. James couldn't see Sirius's face, but he had a feeling that Sirius mirrored his companion's smiles.
Lily was the first one to notice James; she smiled even wider and called him over. "Pull up a chair and you can play in the next round!"
James grinned roguishly when he, instead of grabbing a new chair, lifted Lily out of hers, sat on it and placed her on his lap.
"Not my chair you prat!" she scolded him lightly.
"I like this chair," he said shrugging.
"Looks like the best seat in the house to me," Sirius agreed grinning at his best friends.
"Can we get on with this game now?" asked Christopher annoyed at the interruption. He raised his eyebrow at his son, but was smiling, so James didn't feel the need to move.
"It's your turn Sirius," Marilyn prompted.
"What are you playing?" James asked curiously.
"It's called Pitch," Lily said as she quickly explained the rules to James. "You can play in the next round."
"When's that?"
"Well your dad and I are about to win, so I'd say in a minute or two," boasted Lily.
"You are not going to win!" protested Sirius. "Mrs. Potter and I will come from behind and be victorious!"
"Sorry Sirius," apologized Mrs. Potter as she played her last card. "I have nothing useful."
"Yes!" shouted Mr. Potter as he pumped his fist. He leaned over the table and high-fived Lily. "We won!"
"I demand a rematch!" Sirius called.
Lily looked at James and he replied, "You guys play; I don't mind watching, especially if Sirius is getting beaten!"
"I am not! Mrs. Potter and I let them win that time; it won't happen again!"
"That's right Sirius; we'll get them this time!" predicted Mrs. Potter.
Unfortunately Mrs. Potter was not correct. They played Pitch for hours, but Lily and Mr. Potter succeeded in beating them every time.
"Are you sure this deck isn't cursed?" asked Sirius for the thousandth time as he was once again dealt what he viewed as a terrible hand.
"You've checked it nine times already," said Lily tiredly.
"Then why aren't I winning?" he whined.
"Mr. Potter and I are just unstoppable," stated Lily matter-of-factly.
"I was thinking we should make this into a profession," remarked Mr. Potter jokingly. "Muggles do that, don't they?"
"They do. We could travel the world playing in tournaments. We would be famous and rich," Lily said.
"Money, popularity, and ability to travel," mused Christopher. "Sounds ideal! I say we depart in the morning!"
"I say we should join the circus while we're at it!" declared Lily.
"Perfect! Circus people by day, and famous gamblers at night!"
Everyone laughed at the out-of-character antics of Christopher Potter. However, the laughter was cut short by the arrival of the Head Auror's head in the fireplace.
"Potter!" the man bellowed. "We need you and your team now, and put Moody and his team on high alert! The Academy is being attacked!"
Christopher's face quickly became the cool and focused visage of an experienced auror. "We'll be there in three minutes sir," he promised.
"Meet in front of the school's main gates," said the Auror before he disappeared from the fireplace to alert another division.
Christopher set out at a run. Within a minute he had changed into his auror robes, alerted Moody by floo, and sent out the warning signal to his team.
"Bye," he said quickly as he kissed Marilyn on the cheek and then jumped into the floo to begin gathering his team.
"I think I'll head to bed," said Marilyn tiredly, breaking the silence that was left in Christopher's wake.
After his mother had left, James turned to Sirius and said, "Shouldn't we go help? They're defending our school."
"No!" exclaimed Lily sharply. She swiveled so that she was looking James right in the eye. "If they needed you they would have asked, and besides that they are calling up teams, teams that know how to work together and know what they're doing. You would just be in their way."
"They probably need all the help they can get," protested James.
"No they don't," Lily argued back. "Auror Scrimgeour didn't even need Auror Moody's team, so I don't think he needs you two."
"But we want to help."
"You can help by staying here and staying alive until you can be trained so that you are helpful," Lily shot back.
"But Lily-"
"No," she cut him off. "Neither of you are leaving my sight."
"Ok," James relented. "We won't go, right Sirius?"
"Right," said Sirius coolly, though Lily could tell he was seething just under the surface. "I think I'll head to bed too; I want to get plenty of rest before my first day of training- provided that there still is a place to train."
James and Lily mumbled a good night. After Sirius's departure, Lily relaxed and sank into James's embrace.
"I don't want you to be an auror," murmured Lily. "I don't like thinking of you being in danger all the time."
James didn't know what to say, so he just held Lily tighter.
"I know you have to do it though, and I've mostly accepted the idea," Lily continued. "But it's times like these that make it seem real, and it scares me."
"I don't want you to go away," said James sharply. It was the first time he had openly admitted that fact. He had been hinting at it for days, still believing that maybe he could convince Lily to stay if he pointed out enough good things about England and her life there. If he made it unbearable for her to leave, she would stay, was his logic.
"I know," Lily sighed,
"You don't have to go. You could go to the School of Healing here in England, or even the Auror Academy if you really wanted. Or really, you don't have to go to school at all. Just stay here with my mum and start some of those charitable organizations that you've always wanted to run. Someday I will marry you Lily Evans, and so you don't need a job or money. I promise you that you will never need to support yourself."
Lily smiled sadly at James. He so desperately wanted her to stay, and she so desperately wanted to go. "That's not me," she told him quietly. "You can't bear to stay home and do nothing and neither can I. I need to go; there my skills can be tested and sharpened. Nowhere else would someone like me be challenged. And I need a change of scenery; I need to get away so that I can figure out who I am."
James was confused. "How can you not know who you are?"
Lily sighed. "Sometimes I'm not sure what it is that I'm supposed to be doing, where I fit in. I need to go away so that I can get some distance. I'll be around people who don't know me, have no preconceived notions of how I'm supposed to behave. I've been playing roles for years; I was one Lily around my family, another Lily at school, and a different Lily among my friends. I need to figure out which Lily I am, or even take pieces from each Lily to form one whole person. I need this James, but I need you too. Please tell me that you'll support me through this. I want to go with all of my heart, but I won't if you tell me not to."
"I- I-" stammered James. As he gazed into the emerald eyes he loved so much, he saw the years of scars, the many times Lily was forced to sacrifice what she wanted for the needs of her family and friends. How could he deny her this? But as he thought about letting her go, he felt painful pangs attack his heart. How could he bear to lose her?
A/N. I think I'll go straight to the questions, starting with the biggest:
What will James say to Lily? What do you want him to say to her?
Why do you think the Auror Academy was attacked and how do you think it will change things?
What did you think about the game of Pitch?
How did you feel about the attack on Diagon Alley? About Lily and Remus's involvement? About Bellatrix?
What did you think about the Remus/Lily bonding after the attack?
What do you want to happen in the coming chapters?
(I would just like to comment that I really enjoy reading about what some of you think is coming up! Many times you have ideas that I haven't even thought of and sometimes I am able to incorporate them into the story- you reviewers know who you are! So please answer the last question if nothing else, and the more farfetched and silly the answer is the more I will enjoy it!)
Finally an FYI- I have chapters 48 and 49 complete, so again inspire me to edit them and they shall appear! (Another note- wow this chapter is full of them!- I don't mean to pressure anyone into reviewing. I am merely stating that reviews push me to update. There is not set number of reviews that will make me update. Chapter 45 received 26 reviews and Chapter 46 only received 23, yet I'm updating now!) Okay I'm really done now!
-AAA
P.S. I was done, but then it came to my attention that many people have not heard of the fantastic game that is Pitch. It is a complicated game that is hard to explain, so I have included this website to explain it for me: .org/wiki/Pitch_(card_game). The Potters, Lily and Sirius were playing team Pitch in this chapter. If the webiste link doesn't work just put "pitch" into wikipedia, select the card game definition and you will find the same site. I would strongly advise any card players to learn and play this game; it's one of my favorites!