Chapter 3: Potter Manor

Lily walked out of the Hogwarts halls with her friends everything Dumbledore had said weighing heavily on their minds. She entwined her hand with James'. Losing his parents had been hard on him and Sirius. For Sirius it was the only real family he ever had. For James he had lost not only his parents but his mentors, someone he look up to.

Karen seemed in a trance as well. Her aunt was on of the closest people to her. When she had joined Voldemort she had asked Karen to come with her. To be her helper. At first Karen had said that she needed to think about it. In her sixth year she was really distance from everyone. Even Lily couldn't get her to talk very much. One day, she went missing. Sirius found her drunk in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Afterward she had spilled. Lily had comforted her while James and Sirius told her to that if she wanted they would hex her aunt. So in the end she had written her aunt a letter telling her no.

Remus, Lily knew, would have a hard time adjusting if everyone knew his secret. For him it was hard to understand that his friends hadn't hated him for being a werewolf. Because no matter what some evil person did to him it didn't matter to his friends. They would always be there for him to help him through everything.

If Sirius came in contact with his brother, he would forget that Regulus was his brother. As far as Sirius was concerned he had no family besides James and his friends.

What about me? Lily thought. If she could protect her parents and Tunney then that was all that mattered. Her parents were muggles they couldn't do anything if a Death Eater came into their house and tried to kill them. They would be defenseless. Petunia would never forgive her if something happened to their parents. Lily wanted Petunia safe to even if Tunney didn't like her. She was still her sister and Lily wanted her to be safe, as well. Even Tunney didn't want her at her wedding. None of that mattered now.

"Well I think we should head over to my house," James said. He still had troubles going in there since his parents died.

"Probably the best idea," Sirius mumbled. Everyone went silent again.

"Oh come on guys!" Lily said. "It's not the end of the world. We are fighting to give our children a better place to grow up in. Not like the trails we had to grow up with. We're doing this for the next generation. So cheer up alright. No use in being down."

"Lils is right," Karen said. "We have to hold our heads high and prepare for the road ahead."

"And that road is going to be a hard one," Remus mumbled.

Lily thought the Potter Manor didn't have its glow anymore. Normally Mrs. Potter would have come out to greet them, with her short black hair flowing behind her, and make sure they weren't hungry or thirsty. She would make sure they got settled alright. When you hugged her you could smell the faint scent of cinnamon and coco. Mr. Potter would be sitting in the living room read the Daily Prophet. He would make his way over to you slowly, slightly limping, because of an old injury he got when he was an Auror. Then later after everyone had settled in they would listen to Mr. Potter tell one of his stories, but that was all gone now. Now Potter Manor seemed so...empty.

"Ginkgo! We're back!" James called.

A small house elf house wearing a black clothe appeared before them. His ears were a little drooped over and his brown eyes were glossed over as if he had cried. Even the house elves grieved for Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"Master called?" the old elf asked.

"Where's Pokey?" James asked. Pokey was the Potter's other elf. She was Ginkgo's wife.

"Ginkgo ties to get her to stop crying but Ginkgo's can't!" the elf exclaimed. "Ginkgo is sorry."

"It's alright Ginkgo," James said bending down to talk to the small elf. He will make a good father one day, Lily thought then shook her head. "If it's alright with you could you make us up some sandwiches?"

"Yes, of course, Master," Ginkgo said before popping away.

"Come on guys," James said. "I'll show you where you can stay. Sirius you know where your room." Sirius had lived with the Potters since his family had kicked him out. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had been like a mother and father to him.

"I'm offended," Sirius scoffed. "You take your best friend for granted."

James rolled his eyes. "Yeah I'm real mean."

He led the others up the marble staircase and through the winding halls of the Potter Mansion. "Here Karen," he pushed open a door to beautiful bedroom. There was a bed in center with red drapes around the top. Two night stands stood on either side of it. To the right there was a door probably leading to a bathroom.

"Thanks," she said smiling. "I'll be down in the kitchen if I can find my way back."

"Here Remus," James pushed open a door across the hall from Karen's. It looked exactly the same except that instead of red it was dark blue.

"Thanks James," Remus said quietly.

"Are you ok?" Lily asked.

"I'm making to ok," he said pushing open a door down the hall. Again, it looked exactly the same except it was a dark yellow.

"James...I...hope you feel better," Lily said placing a hand on his check. James relaxed at her touch and leaned into it.

"Hey everyone get your arses down here or I'm coming up there to get you!" Sirius yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Guess we better go before we get dragged down the stairs," James mumbled. Lily just nodded.

He blew the door open and there was a scream from the kitchen. In a flash of green light they lay on the ground, dead. No life in either the husband or wife. Soundlessly he walked out of the house and didn't even bother to shut the door.

Lily woke up in a cold sweat. That was the worst dream in the world. Silently, she crept into James' room. He laid with his back to her, but she could tell by his stance that he wasn't asleep so she lifted the covers over up and slipped under the sheets. James turned over. "Hey," he mumbled slipping his arms around her.

"I had a bad dream," she said.

"What about?" he asked.

"He killed Mum and Dad," she said.

"It's ok, love, that won't happen," he said.

"Why weren't you asleep?" Lily asked him.

"Because I find in hard to sleep in this house anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just stay."

Lily just nodded drifting off to sleep.