Chapter THREE

Lily stirred sluggishly as the cold wind of late October blew her hair away from her face.

Sitting up, she stared around her. Where was she? What had happened? Why did her chest hurt? She shifted slightly and felt something sharp and pointed dig into her right buttock. Looking down, she saw a broken chunk of wood. Judging by the shape, she guessed it probably came from the table in the kitchen. Looking up, there was a giant hole where the roof had been.

It all came back in a flood. She remembered Voldemort blasting the door open, Peter stunning James, herself killing Pettigrew, and Voldemort killing Sirius. Wincing, she slowly and painfully climbed to her feet. Stumbling over bits of wood and shattered stone she knelt beside James, pressing two fingers to his neck.

She sighed in relief. His pulse was slow but strong. Stumbling up the stairs, she looked down at Sirius. She didn't have to touch him. The smell of cooling blood and voided bowels told her all she needed to know. As she heard the soft whimpers of the two infants in the room up ahead, she quickened her pace. Bursting into the nursery, she hurried over to the two cribs nearly tripping over Frank's sprawled form.

Harry gripped the bars of the crib, gazing at her. "Mamma," he whimpered.

Lily stared at him. He was still as tiny as ever, but here he was standing, and now he'd said his first word. She gently lifted him from the crib. Looking him over, she was relieved to see no injuries.

Harry snuggled into her breast. His eyes immediately began to droop. Within seconds, he was asleep. Hugging him close, Lily turned her attention to Neville who lay in his crib, whimpering softly.

The first thing she noticed was the serpent shape scar burned into his forehead. Looking closer, she felt a thread of disquiet as she noticed the detail of the scar. It looked more like a tattoo than a scar. There were even scales and eyes burned into his flesh. She gently touched the scar with the tip of one finger. Concentrating, she numbed the area around it. Neville smiled up at her and stopped whimpering. Tucking the blanket around him, she kissed his forehead. Shifting Harry to her other arm, she knelt to check on Frank.

Like Sirius, he was dead. Gently, she closed his eyes before turning to Alice. She noticed her friend's fingers twitching and knelt beside her.

"Alice," she said urgently. "Alice can you hear me?"

Alice groaned. "Lily?" she whispered.

She gently laid Harry back in the crib.

Running her fingers through Alice's hair, she found a dented spot in the right side of Alice's skull. Laying her hand flat on Alice's head, she willed her magic to repair the damage.

She felt the energy drain from her. There was a minute cracking sound as Alice's fractured skull knit back together. Alice's eyes immediately cleared and she gripped Lily's arm.

"Lily?" she said sitting up, nearly hitting Lily in the nose with her forehead. "What happened? Is Neville alright? What about the others?"

"Neville's fine," Lily assured her. "He has a scar, but otherwise he is not much the worse." She paused, unsure of how to continue. "Frank," she began.

Alice's eyes widened and her face paled. "No," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. Lily slipped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing tightly.

"I know," she murmured. "I know how you feel." With her help, Alice managed to stumble to her feet. Lily guided her to the crib, showing her Neville sleeping soundly. At sight of her son, Alice let out a sigh of relief. She looked at the small serpent shaped scar burned into his forehead.

"I don't like it," she said frowning heavily. "It looks far too perfect to be a mere scar." She looked sideways at Lily. "You healed me. Couldn't you…"

Lily shook her head. "The scar was inflicted by magic. I am able to perform minor healing spells, but injuries caused by spells are beyond my skill to mend. As far as the perfection of the image burned into his forehead, I had much the same thought. I'd let a ST. Mungo's healer take a look at it. Maybe they can tell us more about it."

Alice nodded absently, running her fingers through Neville's hair. She kissed his forehead, right on his scar. She waved her wand, conjuring a second blanket. She laid it atop the first and tucked both blankets tighter around him. She glanced back at Lily. "Something is wrong," she said. "Dumbledore or someone should've been here by now. It's been what, at least a quarter of an hour?"

Lily looked down at her watch, but the face had been shattered during her battle with Voldemort. She showed the broken watch to Alice.

"I don't know what time it is, but I'm sure you're right. I'll go and see if I can contact Dumbledore. Will you be alright here for a few moments?"

Alice lifted a sleeping Neville from his crib, hugging him close. "I'll be fine." She glanced back at Frank's body before looking away. "Were there any other casualties?"

"Sirius," Lily said shortly.

Alice winced and looked down at the floor. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed something.

"Lily," she said sharply. "Look at this?"

Lily followed Alice's gaze and noticed a charred pile of cloth and a blackened piece of wood. Kneeling, she prodded the cloth with the tip of one finger. "I think it's robes. Look at this."

Alice knelt beside her. She touched the white powdery substance Lily indicated. "It's ashes."

Lily picked up the piece of wood. "I think this is what's left of his wand." She stood up abruptly. "I need to go contact Dumbledore."

XXX

Dumbledore lowered the blanket over Frank's body and tucked the sides around him neatly. He glanced over to where Lily was doing the same with Sirius.

"I didn't see Peter betraying us," he said sadly. "I never would've believed he could be so cold."

"Why stun me, but let Voldemort kill Sirius," James said rubbing his head.

Lily grimaced. "That is probably my fault," she said pointing to the bloody smear on the wall. "I was kind of ripping him apart by that point."

Dumbledore squeezed her shoulder. "Don't let it bother you, my dear. From your story, Voldemort was getting more than a little impatient."

"I suppose," Lily said quietly.

"Do we know where Augusta's body is?" Alice asked. "She is a Longbottom and I'd like her buried in the family plot if possible."

"Sadly no," Dumbledore said. "I am afraid we may never find her body because we don't know where Voldemort's hideout was."

Alice frowned down at the floor. "I guess a stone will have to do. I'll need to get Frank's body ready for funeral. I think I'm just going to burn this place to the ground. I don't see myself or Neville ever coming back here." She looked at James. "You and Frank were close. Would you be willing to help out with everything?"

"Sure," James said. "I'll do what I can."

Lily looked on awkwardly. She felt like a third wheel. It was only now that the fighting and hiding were over that she realized how much things had changed. True, the time had been much shorter for her friends than for her, but it still felt as if they'd all been the ones to move on without her. She glanced over at Dumbledore and was startled to see him giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Why don't you return to Hogwarts," he said. "There is nothing more you can do here."

Lily glanced back at Alice who smiled sadly. "Go," she said softly. "I'll let you know if I need anything."

Lily gathered Harry in her arms and stood. After bidding the others good-bye, she turned on her heal, vanishing from the cottage.

XXX

Voldemort watched Lily vanish with her cub. As soon as she was gone, the mist faded.

"Wards," Aeval snapped. "They're blocking my ability to see."

"Seeing does you no good if you are trapped here," Voldemort pointed out. "How exactly are you going to attack him? Am I just supposed to wait until he's older?"

"No," Aeval hissed her eyes blazing at the mere thought. "The older he gets, the stronger he will become. Unfortunately, I can only hold onto my rule if the brat is dead. He is Oberon's true heir. The fae will accept me until the gates are open again, but as soon as that happens they will want the bitch back. She may not be fae, but she did acquire a following while she was here."

"Couldn't you tell them that Lily killed Oberon?"

Aeval gave the ghost a look that stated more plainly than words, 'You are an idiot.'

"I may be able to convince the fae for a while. Their senses are more acute than humans, but most can't detect a lie by scent alone. As long as I was speaking to a group, I should be fine. . The shifters are the problem. They would detect even the slightest change in my heart rate and temperature."

"A queen that can't lie to a group of her subjects? How did you ever stay in power for so long?"

Voldemort screamed as pain shot through his body.

"Do not tempt me little man," Aeval thundered. "You may have found the methods to bind your soul to this plane, but never forget that while you are here, I own you."

The pain faded, leaving Voldemort trembling. He looked down at himself, expecting to see skin and muscle torn away. His skin was unblemished. He shuddered.

This Aeval was far more dangerous than he'd first thought. He'd had no idea she could cause him such pain, but now that he knew, he was going to have to be careful. He opened his mouth to say something, but was jerked backward by an unseen force. Before he could utter a sound, he was gone.

XXX

Voldemort blinked. A dark void stretched as far as the eye could see. He could feel hard unyielding earth underneath his feet. There was no sun or moon overhead, just darkness all around. He raised an arm to shield his eyes as a light blinded him.

The world seemed to spring up around him. Grass grew out of the earth. A blue sky appeared above him as if it had been painted on the very air. Sunlight bathed his skin and a soft breeze ruffled his hair.

"What?" he whispered. "Am I alive?"

"Afraid not," a man's voice said. "This is limbo. It responds to the will of its occupants."

Voldemort turned to face the newcomer. His eyes widened as he noticed the blue hair and gold eyes. "You're Oberon," he gasped, "but you're dead."

"So are you," Oberon said conversationally. "As you are well aware, dead does not necessarily mean departed."

Two comfortable looking armchairs appeared beside them, looking distinctly out of place in the meadow they were in. "Sit please," Oberon said gesturing to one of the armchairs.

Voldemort sat down, still staring at Oberon. "What do you want? I suppose you are here to ask me not to kill your son."

"Among other things," Oberon said. "I'm here to try and talk you out of your mad quest to save the wizards by killing the Muggle-borns."

"We have the fae," Voldemort said. "We have no need of the Muggle-born. You've seen how the muggles are. Can you honestly say you'd trust them with the fae? They kill anything they don't understand. Hell, look how much they fight among themselves. If there opinion is challenged, they go on the attack. Some of them whine like three year olds when they don't get there way and we aren't talking about the children. How do you think they'd react to a race of mortals with magic, or a nonhuman race that is ageless? They would want to strip you of the gifts you were born with, or try and copy those gifts for themselves."

"You may be right about the nonmagicals, but you can't kill all of them. There are billions of nonmagicals and only a few million wizards. Do I need to remind you of what Hitler did back in the 1940's? Besides, the Muggle-born as you call them have just as much right to practice magic as other wizards do. Think about it, if they were left untrained, there magic could potentially reveal the wizarding world.

"SO we should just accept them and wait for them to betray us?" Voldemort snapped.

"If you give them the same opportunities as all wizards they will have no reason to betray you," Oberon said calmly. "However, if you mistreat them and treat them like second class citizens, then they will rise up and destroy your way of life."

Voldemort rose and kicked his chair away. "Enough," he shouted. "I will do what needs to be done and no dead king is going to stop me. I am sorry what has to happen to your son, but it is necessary. His sacrifice will insure my return."

"Ah," Oberon said interrupting him. "Your return. Yes, tell me, did Aeval promise you a human body?"

Voldemort froze. Oberon was right. She'd promised to return him to a body, but she hadn't said anything about a human body.

"One thing about fae," Oberon said. "If we like you we'll do all we can to aid you. However, if we don't like you, we'll just follow the letter of our word." He smirked. "Does Aeval like you? If she does, will she like you tomorrow?"

Before Voldemort could say a word, Oberon had stood. "That's enough talk for now. Think about what I said. I'd really hate to see a race be wiped out due to one man's stupidity. Heaven knows I've seen that more times than I can count."

"But Oberon is only a thousand years old,' Voldemort protested. "All the stories say you were born in the ninth century."

Oberon chuckled. "Do you think Oberon is the only name I've gone buy?"

Before Voldemort could say anything, he found himself flying through space once again.

XXX

Aeval blinked as Voldemort reappeared before her. He'd only been gone a few seconds by her point-of-view, but the shocked expression on his face said it was probably longer to him.

"Where were you," she snapped.

"No time for that," Voldemort growled. "Are you going to give me a humanoid form after I kill the brat?"

Aeval blinked again. "What? Why wouldn't I give you a humanoid form?"

"I met your husband, or should I say X-husband? He said if the fae don't like you, they'll only follow the letter of their word."

Aeval giggled girlishly. "Crafty," She smiled at the ghost. "Did he tell you that was the code of the Seelie court, not the high court of Faerie?"

Voldemort stopped, his mouth snapping shut. Aeval touched his cheek with a cool hand.

"Can't you see what he's doing? He is trying to drive a wedge between us. He is trying to make you mistrust me to protect his bitch and her cub."

Voldemort stared at her unsure of what to believe. Could he trust her? More important, could he afford not to?

Aeval leaned forward staring into his eyes. "I swear to you that I will restore your former body once you have completed the task I've given you."

Voldemort saw the flash of light that accompanied her words and sighed in relief. "Alright," he said gruffly. "What do we do now?"

Aeval's smile was all teeth. "Before we figure that out, I need to know what else Oberon told you."

XXX

Lily frowned as she passed Severus Snape in the corridor again. Every time she passed him, he reeked of fear. However, it was only when she was around. When he was unaware of her presence, he was as calm as ever. Could he be afraid of her now that she was a shifter? No, that wasn't right. They'd talked right after her divorce, if you considered Snape pointing out her mistake in marrying James a talk. He hadn't been afraid of her then, so why would he fear her now? What had changed? She stopped dead, staring at his back. Voldemort had to find out about the Longbottoms some way. Who could've informed him of their location? Had Snape caused the death of Frank and Sirius? He had been a Death Eater. Would Dumbledore have allowed him to stay in the school if he'd done so?

Lily's teeth ground in frustration. Unfortunately, she had to conclude that yes, he would most certainly allow it. Dumbledore was all for giving people a second chance. She had to know. If Snape had been the one to cause Neville to grow up without a Father, then he had to pay.

Lily pointed her index finger at Snape's back. There was a flash of light and he crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Moving quickly, Lily grabbed him and apparated away.

XXX

Dumbledore jerked in his chair, clutching his head. Someone had just apparated out of Hogwarts, but that was impossible. He rose, and kicking his chair aside, barely made it to the toilet before vomiting everything he'd eaten that day. Straightening up, he wiped sweat from his forehead. Performing a cleaning spell on his beard, he stumbled back to his desk. Who had managed to apparate through the wards? Why had they felt the need to do so? He would need to investigate this.

XXX

Landing in a clearing in the forbidden forest, Lily dropped Snape. With a gesture, she woke him. She watched impassively as he stared around himself wildly. After a few seconds, his eyes landed on her.

"Lily," he muttered thickly. "Where… what…"

"Cut the crap," Lily snapped. "Why are you afraid of me?"

Snape stared at her blankly. "What? I don't know what you're…"

Lily cut him off with a raised hand. "Enough! I can smell your fear. You weren't afraid of me until after the attack at the Longbottoms. Why is that?"

Snape said nothing. He stared down at the ground as if seeing something fascinating there. Reaching out, Lily yanked the left sleeve of his robes up. "Ah," she hissed. "I thought so." There, burned into his flesh, was a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth. "So, Voldemort branded you like one of his prized cows did he?"

Snape flinched at her tone. "Lily I…" he began.

"Shut up," Lily screamed. Her eyes had turned amber now. "Do you realize what you've done?"

"Lily, I didn't know," Snape pleaded. "I didn't know that you would be there. I swear if I knew, I would've tried to talk him out of attacking that house."

"Not that you idiot," Lily said shoving him back to the ground. "Although I'd kill you for that alone, that's not what I'm talking about. Did you even care that the Longbottoms were going to lose their son? Do you care that Neville is going to grow up without a Father?"

"I was a Death Eater," Snape protested. "I was loyal to Voldemort at the time and why do you care about the Longbottom boy? He is not your concern."

"And when did you switch sides, hmmm? I bet it was after you found out I'd gone into hiding with the Longbottoms. You only started working at Hogwarts when you discovered that your obsession was in danger. As for why I care, my son will grow up without his Father. I would not subject another child to that if I could help it."

"That's not," Snape began. "I was never obsessed with you. I love you Lily. Can't you see that?"

"You never loved me. I'm not even sure you know what the word means. I know you continued to watch me after our friendship was broken. What would you have done if I would've been the one in danger from Voldemort?"

"I wouldn't have let him hurt you," Snape insisted. "I swear it Lily."

"What about Harry? Would you have saved him? I assume you know by now that he isn't James's son? Would you have made sure that he lived, or would you have swooped in to save the grieving Mother during her time of need?"

Snape was silent. He knew that Lily would smell a lie. He looked up at her amber eyes glowing in her pale face and shuddered. He had to escape. He couldn't let it all end this way, killed by his former best friend. What was he going to do though? She was faster than him. She would know if he went for his wand. There was a rustling sound behind him. He froze. His eyes widened as a smile blossomed on Lily's face.

"I was wondering when they would show up."

Snape reached for his wand, but found the pocket empty. "Lily," he choked. "What are you doing?"

Lily held up his wand, twirling it between her fingers. "It's such a tragedy," she sighed dramatically. "You went into the forest to gather potion ingredients and were set upon by the acramantula' that live here. Not everyone will believe it of course, but then again, that doesn't really matter. The point is they will never be able to tie me to your death."

"You can't do this," Snape said panicked. He could hear the rustling noises growing closer. "I admit I was a Death Eater, but Death Eaters deserve a fair trial."

"I would agree with you, but did Dumbledore know you were a Death Eater?"

"Of course," Snape said. "I informed him when I switched sides."

"And yet he did nothing. That implies that he would speak for you at your trial. Since Veritaserum is not admissible in court, you would probably get off. No Severus, we can't have that. You must pay for the murders you helped commit."

"Lily," Snape shrieked as webs shot out of the shadows, binding him tightly. "Please, I can change. Give me a chance."

"Have you killed during your service to Voldemort? Have you slain anyone that could not defend themselves?"

Snape didn't answer, continuing to struggle against the webbing holding him.

"I thought so," Lily said tossing his wand to him. "Feel free to fight now."

Snape deftly caught his wand and shot a fire spell at the webbing holding him. The webbing was burned through immediately, but more spun out of the shadows to take its place. A hairy leg reached out of the shadows and plucked the wand from his fingers. Snape let out a howl of pain as the webbing tightened. Blood ran down his arms where the webbing dug into his skin. He could feel more blood soaking through his clothes.

"Lily," he begged. "You are not a murderer. Please, there's still time. Don't let this be your last memory of me. Please, for the sake of the friendship we lost, help me."

Lily lifted a hand and pointed a finger at him. "You're right, I'm not a murderer, but this isn't murder. It's justice. Did you torture anyone when you were a Death Eater?"

Snape nodded reluctantly. "Yes," he whispered.

"Sorry then, I'm all out of mercy." Turning Lily left the forest, Snape's screams of agony ringing in her ears. It was only after she was out of sight that she allowed the tears to fall.

She cried for the little boy who'd introduced her to the wizarding world. She cried for the friend that allowed his own hatred and insecurities to run his life, but most of all, she cried for the man he might have been.

XXX

Snape's mutilated body was found at the edge of the forbidden forest. His death was greeted with shock. After it was determined that the acramantula had killed him, A team of aurors was sent into exterminate them. The groundskeeper, Hagrod, pleaded that they weren't a danger, but no one would listen. With the acramantulas gone, the atmosphere in Hogwarts slowly returned to normal.

Harry continued to develop far faster than a normal child. By February he was walking and by the end of the year, when Lily had finished her Charms apprenticeship and gained her mastery, he was talking. True, it was only a few words, but Lily was still impressed considering he was only around a year old. On the last day of term, she met with Dumbledore in his office.

"What will you do now?" he asked pouring her a cup of tea.

"I got a house purchased," Lily said after taking a sip of tea and wiping her mouth. "I think I'm going to take Harry there. Flitwick is going to let me teach part time, so I'll have some income coming in. I'll need to find a babysitter for Harry, but I don't expect that'll be too difficult. I'll floo in in the morning and floo home at night. It's a good thing I don't start until the fall. That'll give me plenty of time to help Harry get used to his new environment."

"What about Aeval? Aren't you worried that she'll attack Harry when you're not there?"

"She's trapped in Faerie," Lily said shrugging. "Besides, we can't live our lives in fear. Aeval will not want to expose the fae to the Muggle world and I'll be moving to a Muggle village."

"Oh," Dumbledore said raising an eyebrow. "What is the name of this village? Have I heard of it?"

"Ottery ST. Catchpole."

"Ah yes," Dumbledore said. "If that is where you are moving to, I may know of a family you want to meet."

"Who's that?" Lily asked curiously.

Dumbledore smiled. "Oh trust me you've lived among the fae. I think you'll like them."

XXX

Lily stared up at the house towering high above her. It had started life as a simple one roomed cottage, but had been added onto over the centuries. It was now several stories high with several rooms jutting crookedly off the main structure. It was clear the only thing holding the house up was magic. She looked down at Harry standing beside her clutching her hand.

"What do you think," she asked him.

"House," Harry said. "Big house." A suspicious gleam appeared in his eye. "Finite," he said excitedly.

Lily chuckled and scooped him up. "Yep," she said. "Big house. I don't think they'd want a finite spell cast at it though. It might make it go crash."

Harry giggled. "Cwash," he said.

Lily kissed his forehead. "Come on, we're going to meet the people that live in the big house."

She had just stepped onto the porch when the door flew open. A plump woman with long red hair and brown eyes stood framed in the doorway.

"Hello dear, you must be Lily. It is a pleasure to meet you. Albus told us you were coming. Come in come in. My name is Molly by the way. I'm sorry," she said blushing. "Things are a bit hectic around here what with five kids at home and all."

Feeling a bit dazed at the woman's rapid greeting, Lily allowed herself to be ushered inside. As she took a seat at the kitchen table, the woman looked at Harry. "So, this is Oberon's child?"

Lily nodded, kissing the top of Harry's head. "This is Harry Oberon Evans."

"Evans?" Molly asked.

Lily cleared her throat awkwardly. "Oberon didn't have a last name, so I gave Harry mine."

"I see," Molly said smiling. "I do wonder how the fae keep track of bloodlines without a last name. Oh well, that's neither here nor there is it? Would you like some tea?"

"Sure," Lily said hesitantly. No sooner had the word left her mouth, than a cup of tea and a plate of chocolate biscuits appeared in front of her.

"Help yourself," Molly said taking a seat across from her. "The kids are supposed to be down for a nap right now, so we have a bit to talk."

"Supposed to be?" Lily asked curiously.

"Well, Ron and Ginny are definitely napping. Percy's probably in his room, but Fred and George," she broke off and sighed.

"A bit rambunctious are they?" Lily asked amused.

Molly snorted. "Troublemakers more like." She glanced at Harry who was eyeing the biscuits hungrily.

"How is he by the way? Does he get into everything?"

"Fae children develop slightly faster than human children do, so he's already walking and saying a few words."

"Impressive," Molly said. "How old is he?"

"A little less than a year old. He was born on June 21 of last year."

"So since fae children develop quicker, I suppose he'll start Hogwarts when he's ten or so."

Lily winced. "Oh please don't mention Hogwarts. I'm not ready to give him up just yet."

Molly nodded and smiled. "I know what you mean. Even after sending two off to Hogwarts, it never gets any easier."

Their conversation was interrupted by the cry of an infant. Molly stood. "Excuse me."

She left the room and returned a few seconds later carrying a baby girl with flaming red hair the same color as her Mothers.

Sitting back down, she summoned a bottle and began to feed the little girl. "This is my youngest, Ginny."

Harry spoke up for the first time. "Baby," he said excitedly. "Pretty baby."

Lily kissed the tip of his nose. "Yes, pretty baby," she said. "Now shh, Molly's trying to feed the baby."

"Oh that's quite alright," Molly said. "This one is quite used to loud noises." She gave Lily a shrewd look. "Albus said you would need a babysitter for next year?"

Lily nodded. "I have a part time job teaching the first years charms at Hogwarts. It doesn't pay much, but we'll get buy. I'll be flooing home at night, but I need someone to watch Harry while I'm working."

Molly nodded. "Well, why don't we try it out and see how things go. You've got the summer off, so bring Harry over tomorrow to introduce him to all the children. We'll see how well they get along and go from there."

"Sounds reasonable," Lily said. "What time should I come?"

"Say around half passed nine or ten O'clock?"

"Sounds good," Lily said standing. "It was nice meeting you Molly."

"Nice meeting you as well, Lily," Molly said standing with a sleeping Ginny in her arms. "I think this is going to work out. I'm sure the children will get along just fine."

Lily smiled. "I'm sure they will."

Lily left the house feeling hopeful. Perhaps things were starting to look up.