"Have you heard that Owen Smith has a crush on Professor Bones?" Jane asked.
"No," Lily said looking down at her Charms notebook.
"Well I just heard it from Iris. Apparently he thinks she has nice skin," Jane said. "And we all know what that means."
Lily didn't respond. Since telling Jane about her latest incident with Seth her best friend had stopped urging her to make up with him and had instead tried to distract her from thinking about it. She was using her biggest talent other than sarcasm, gossip.
"I can't believe what a git Seth is being," Lily said. "I mean not only does he snub me but for my cousin," she said.
"Just forget it, he'll come to his senses," said Jane "Hey I know something we can do. Let's visit Hagrid," she advised.
Lily brightened. She hadn't visited Hagrid all year. The half- giant was a great friend to her and her family. The gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher was the perfect person to talk to and get advice from.
"Sounds good," she said.
Lily and Jane made their way to the hut by the Forbidden Forest. As they walked Lily talked to Jane about her time travel theory.
"There have been a few sightings of Morgan over the years," she said.
"There have been more Heliopath sightings than that," said Jane.
"But Jane," Lily protested.
"I'm not denying that it's true, I'm just saying you shouldn't assume it," Jane said.
"You sound like Seth," Lily said aware of how whiny she sounded.
"Forget it, let's just focus on talking to Hagid," Jane said.
She knocked on the door. They heard muffled sounds of a struggle inside the hut. Finally the door was opened by a disheveled- looking Hagrid.
"Lily, Jane come in," he said. "Was worry' ya forgot 'bout me," he said.
They went inside the hut.
"Nice to see you Hagrid," said Lily. "We heard noises from inside is everything alright?" she asked.
"Oh is fine, I was jus' trying ter release a Nogtail I foun'," he said. "Anyways I hear' ya had a problem wit' the Willow."
After recounting the story of the Willow the conversation went to school and then Quidditch. Hagrid then told them them a funny story from his Care of Magical Creatures class.
"So why idn't Seth come?" Hagrid asked.
Lily shifted her weight uncomfortably.
"We're not on the best terms with him," Jane answered.
Hagrid nodded.
"Don't sweat it. Yer dad an' his friends had some rows too. They di'nt last an' neither will yers," he finished.
"Well we have to get studying," Lily said. "I hope we see each other again soon," Lily said.
"See ya," Hagrid said before they left.
The visit had succeeded in lifting up Lily's mood. She and Jane were working on a joint essay for D.A.D.A. about the body bind curse. However Lily's mind was on getting back to the Room of Requirement. She had told Jane about her theory but not about where she had gotten it from.
After dark Lily put on her Cloak. She ran up to the seventh floor corridor. The Room opened up as soon as she approached it. But when she walked in and took off her cloak, she found herself in a large room with blank walls. Confused Lily thought again about what she wanted to know. But the room was still the same. She closed her eyes and thought again. When she opened them there was no difference except… had the room gotten smaller? Suddenly before her eyes the room was shrinking. The walls were closing in on her, the ceiling getting lower. Desperately trying to think she pulled out her wand and screamed any spell that came to mind.
"Reparo!" she screamed. "Engorgio!"
The spells had no effect. She ran to the door, breathing hard. It had shrunk down to her knees. She tried to open it but she wasn't focused. As she looked up the room had shrunk to the size of a broom closet.
"Help!" she screamed.
She had totally frozen up and was curled up into a ball, leaning against the door. The room was closing in on her. It was barely bigger than a box. She waited for the force of the walls to crush her… and then the door opened and a strong hand pulled her out. Lily found her self in the corridor with the door closed behind her. She caught her breath. For a brief moment she thought that Seth had saved her but when her vision cleared she saw to her surprise Eve Sage.
"Breathe slowly," the woman said calmly. "I have to get you to the Hospital Wing."
Lily was too out of it to notice what happened next. Before she knew it she was in the Hospital Wing. She barely heard Sage telling Madam Pomfrey that she was "in shock". She took a calming potion and was promptly asleep.
The next morning two things that Lily detested happened to her; she saw Klara Chang and she was fussed over. She awoke to see Klara talking to Madam Pomfrey. As soon as Pomfrey saw her awake she fussed over her.
"That was a stupid thing to do Miss Potter going out of your bed at night. If Miss Sage hadn't saved you who knows what would've happened," she said.
"Can I go?" Lily asked.
"You most certainly cannot," Pomfrey said. "You're still recovering from a nervous breakdown," she said.
"I'm fine," Lily pleaded.
The situation could not have been more embarrassing. Pomfrey was talking about her freezing under pressure in front of Klara Chang.
"You were barely capable of functioning last night," said Pomfrey "You must stay in bed at least another day," she said.
Klara was watching with a truly mean sneer on her face. Lily could only imagine what rumors Klara would spread after hearing this.
"So what did you ask me for?" Pomfrey asked Klara.
"Nothing, I have everything I need," the girl said before leaving.
Jane later visited Lily. As Lily had suspected Klara had told everyone that Lily had fainted and had been carried to the Hospital Wing by Sage, which unfortunately wasn't far from the truth. This however wasn't what was on Lily's mind.
"I need to talk to her," Lily said to Jane.
"Talk to who?" Jane asked.
"Eve Sage," Lily answered.
Lily found out that Sage was staying in what had once been Filch's Office. She came in unannounced. Sage was quietly inspecting a ratty old hat.
"Um Miss Sage," Lily said.
"Hello Miss Potter, what brings you here," the witch asked.
"Well, I wanted to thank you for saving me," she said.
"You're most welcome," Sage said.
"And to ask why you're following me," Lily finished. "I know you are, it's the only way you could have known I was in the Room of Requirement," she said.
Sage simply smiled.
"You are a smart girl Lily," she said. "The answer is that I… am your aunt," she said.
"What?" Lily asked in shock.
"Not by blood," Sage quickly clarified. "I suppose I should start at the beginning," she said. "Sit down," she offered, pointing to a chair in the middle of the room.
Lily sat down.
"In the First Wizarding War, Voldemort's first rise to power there were many orphans left by the Death Eaters. I was one of them," Sage started. "At the age of five I lived at a center for refugees," she said. "Some Aurors helped out there and one of them was your grandmother."
"You knew my grandmother!" Lily exclaimed.
"Yes, she was like a mother to me," Sage said. "I only knew her for a year but in that time she made a difference in my life," she said.
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"She had other obligations, the Order of Phoenix and of course a baby on the way," Sage explained.
"But that doesn't explain…" Lily started.
Sage held up her hands.
"I'm getting to it," she said. "After the war I went to school at Mahoutokoro in Japan," she said. "During the Second War I did my best to avoid the country where my parents had died. But when I found out that Lily Evans' son had defeated Voldemort that I couldn't ignore."
Lily smiled.
"I returned to Britain and joined the Auror department. And who was I partnered, with but your father," she said.
"So you worked with dad," Lily said.
"Yes I even met you and your brothers a few times but I guess I particularly took to you," she said.
"But why does Dad never talk about you… or mention you?" Lily asked.
For the first time Sage looked uncomfortable.
"Your father and I had different opinions on what tactics should be used against criminals. There was one particular incident… but the main thing is that right now I've been hired to investigate the tree's poisoning and I felt that it was a good time to check on you," she said.
"I knew you weren't here to inspect the school," said Lily.
"You are a curious child, Lily. Have all your questions been answered?" she asked.
"All but one," said Lily. "What's that old hat for?" she asked.
"It's a Portkey," said Sage. "Very useful for traveling long distances."
Sage smiled.
"Have a good day, Lily Potter," she said.
As Lily left she realized that the truth about Eve Sage was more complicated than she could have ever known.
A/N: So what did you make of the last chapter? Were you surprised that Eve Sage knew Lily's grandmother and worked with her father? I might not update for a bit but it shouldn't be too long a wait. Thanks for reading!