"You should just drop out of Hogwarts with me," Lily said.

"That is not happening," Hermione said, gently placing a folded robe into her trunk. She even gave it a little pat, as if it was the cat that was currently sitting in Lily's lap.

"Oh, come on, we can go to-"

"First of all," Hermione said, folding another robe, "you know I'm stuck at Hogwarts. My mum is teaching there next year. There's no chance I get to go anywhere else."

"But-"

"Second," Hermione said, placing it in the trunk, "you're stuck here. Where, exactly, do you think we could go?"

"I don't know," Lily said, slowly petting Weasley. "Canada, maybe?"

"Canada? Really? Why not the States, at that point?"

Lily scoffed. "No, thank you. They've got their own Dark Lord problem at the moment, and one is enough for me. Maybe if I'm lucky he and Voldemort will get into a war with each other and I won't have to worry about a thing."

"You never get lucky," Hermione said, moving on to carefully arranging her textbooks inside her luggage.

"You didn't have to say it," Lily said, grumbling when Weasley hopped up from her lap, content with the amount of love received. Now, all she could do was watch while Hermione slowly removed her belongings from Lily's room. It took them days to clean and organize it, and with Hermione's stuff leaving, it suddenly felt so empty.

Of course, it probably wouldn't if she could be bothered to unpack her own trunk.

"Oh, stop looking at me like that," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "You'll see me again before too long. Honestly, you look like my dog whenever we leave the house."

"Since when do you have a dog?" Lily asked, trying to cheer herself up.

"Since Christmas," Hermione said, pausing in her packing. "Did I never tell you?"

"No."

"You'll have to come visit as soon as possible," Hermione said, resuming her movements. "You'll love him! I named him Moriarty- he's a little Border Collie, and he keeps trying to sneak off with all of my stuffed- why are you looking at me like that?"

"Moriarty?" Lily said, laughing. "Is this because I kept calling you 'Watson' after I read a bunch of Sherlock stories?"

"I- no?" Hermione said, turning her face away. It was too late, though. Lily saw how pink it got.

"You did!" Lily said, hopping up in her excitement.

"I- I did not!"

"Well, Watson," Lily said, pretending like she was smoking a pipe. "I'd like to direct your attention to-"

"Lily, stop!"

"-the curious nature of the dog in the night-time. What is it he is doing with those stuffed animals?"

"Lily!"

"Come, Watson, come!" Lily said, springing towards the door. "The game is afoot!"

"Wait-"

"Not a word!"

"Lily, stop being weird!" Hermione shouted after her as she fled into the hallway. She protested, but Lily could hear the girl chasing after her all the down the stairs. Lily's plan was to create find some sort of artificial mystery to continue pestering the girl, but, when she hit the ground floor, that idea went entirely out the window once she saw people were standing in the sitting room.

"Oh," Lily said, wondering if it was too late to warn-

"Holmes!" Hermione shouted, laughing and running down the stairs. "I say, good man, where are you- oh. Hello."

"There you are!" her mum said, waving at her. "Ready to go, dear?"

"Err- I- I still have a few things to pack, actually," Hermione said, looking at Lily sheepishly.

"Holmes?" Sirius whispered, moving closer and giving Lily a far too eager look.

"Don't you mind a thing," Lily said, holding her chin up high.

"What's that short for, pray tell?"

"I said, don't-"

"Hazel to Holmes," Sirius said, completely ignoring her. "How's that work? See, 'Padfoot' is easy to make sense of- but what's a Holmes?"

"None of your business," Lily said, suddenly very thankful Sirius wasn't up to date on his Muggle knowledge. With any luck, he would never discuss this moment with Ashley.

"I thought you guys were still in the Order meeting," Hermione said, face flushing a bright pink.

"We're heading out early, so we can get you to the train in time," her dad said, glancing at his watch. "Speaking of which- you need to hurry and get packed, we've got to leave in ten minutes if we're going to make it."

"I'll be fast!" Hermione said, immediately skipping back up the stairs.

"Hello, Lily," her mum said, giving her a hug before she could follow after her. "It's a shame you won't be there to see me teach next year- another friendly face would do an awful lot to steady my nerves."

"Yeah," Lily said, indulging in stretching the hug just a little too long. "I should- err- go help Hermione," she added once they broke apart.

"Actually," Sirius said, grabbing her first, "I've got something else for you."

"But I want to-"

"Listen," Sirius said, steering her towards the hallway with an arm around her shoulders. "You'll want to hear this."

"Sirius, she's leaving and I should-"

"I want you to sit on the rest of the meeting," Sirius said, stopping just short of where she could hear the conversing voices in the kitchen and lowering his own.

"You do?" Lily said, snapping to attention. "But- every other time, you kick me out of the kitchen as soon as you can."

"Not by choice," Sirius said. "If I had it my way, you'd be sitting in on every meeting"

Lily snorted and crossed her arms. "You wouldn't even let me stay at Hogwarts, and I'm supposed to buy that?"

"This is different," Sirius said. "It's important- I just want to protect you, Lily, but I know I have a very limited amount of time that I'll be able to keep you away from the war. I want you to be able to enjoy yourself and be safe while you still can- but I also want you to be informed enough once you are in the thick of it, even if most of the Order thinks you're better off not knowing anything."

Lily chewed her lip while she thought. "And you think they'll let me sit in?"

"No," Sirius admitted with a shrug, "but this one is too important for you to miss. I don't think I can buy you a full meeting, but-"

"But, what?" Lily asked, perhaps a bit too eagerly.

"But," Sirius continued, smiling at her knowingly and glancing into the sitting room, "I've had a word with the Grangers- and the Mrs. has agreed to let you assume her identity for the rest of this one."

"Really?" Lily asked, glancing over at the woman again, who was now giving her a friendly little wave before entering the loo.

"She even brought a change of clothes," Sirius said. "She's supposed to be staying while Henry walks Hermione, but this gives her an opportunity to go, too."

"Who all knows?" Lily whispered.

"In there?" Sirius asked. "It'll just be me and Ashley. You'll need to be careful, Lily, if you're willing to try. If you give away the game, you'll get all of us into a lot of trouble."

"Ashley?" Lily asked, blinking slowly. "Err- did you tell her that I'm an- err-"

"No," Sirius said, shaking his head. "As far as she knows, you've got some Polyjuice left that I just happened to let you keep. It's your secret, Lily- I'm not telling anyone you're a Metamorphmagus unless you want me to."

"You really think I should?" Lily asked, glancing eagerly towards the kitchen.

"The question isn't if you should," Sirius said,"it's 'do you think you can.'"

Moments later, after changing into the clothes Mrs. Granger had been wearing minutes ago and spending a good bit of time studying the woman's face and figure to get the details just right, Lily was willing to find out. Sirius was already in there, leaving the decision entirely in her hands. She walked into the kitchen as confidently as she could, looking at the members around the table.

Kingsley Shacklebolt she recognized, albeit from only a fleeting meeting in the not-so-distant past. He was sitting in the middle, Tonks at his side wearing her hair in what looked an awful lot like Lily's natural colour. Both were listening to McGonagall speak about the upcoming student body numbers- she was sitting across from them. Snape was at her side, giving her only a sparing glance with those beady little eyes of his. Flitwick was near him, with Sprout, Sinistra, and Pomfrey rounding out the Hogwarts staff- the rest were undoubtedly left in charge of the students who stayed at the castle. Maraktis was sitting near the end, studying his journal as he listened. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting with their sons, Bill and Charlie (the latter of which must have made a trip from Romania especially for this meeting). Gran- Augusta Longbottom- was sitting by herself in the far corner, tapping her fingers irritably on the table (it took everything Lily had in her to not point out that the woman often scolded her for doing exactly the same thing). Ashley was sitting next to Sirius, Lupin across from them, and the rest were individuals who Lily did not at all recognize. There were almost a dozen of them, ranging of all sorts of ages, gender, and skin tones. It would be a miracle if she could get through this without needing to say any of their names.

And, of course, there was Albus Dumbledore, sitting at the head of the table, smiling and looking straight at her.

"Welcome back, Vera," he said, nodding at her slightly and chuckling. "Trouble with your daughter?"

"Oh, no," Lily said, taking the empty seat closest to Sirius. "It was Lily, actually- she roped Hermione into some silly little game instead of packing, and- well, it doesn't matter. Henry just set out with her."

"Yes, Miss Potter has quite the talent for dragging Miss Granger into all sorts of trouble," McGonagall said. "Honestly, I've had quite a few words with the both of them, but it only seems to fuel them further." Lily didn't even care about the slight drag- she was just happy her impression of Mrs. Granger was good enough for now.

"Yes, the girl takes after her father in that particular regard," Snape said, glaring pointedly at Sirius of all people. "Always dragging other innocents into her own schemes."

"We are not here to discuss Hazel," Dumbledore said. "Ashley, what news of the Ministry?"

Ashley sighed deeply, her shoulders sagging. "Not good, I'm afraid."

"It never is with Fudge," Kingsley said with a dark chuckle. "But she's right- it's not good."

"Please," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the both of them.

"Fudge has had his way," Gran said, speaking instead. "Umbridge will be teaching at Hogwarts next year- the Governors have just acquiesced to that particular demand, among others."

"Among others?" Dumbledore said. "It is as we feared, then?"

"Yes," Gran said grumpily. "The Governors have approved it- Lucius was most pleased. Said that if you're allowed 'to force a farcical requirement of Muggle Studies upon pureblooded Wizarding stock, then there's no reason the Muggleborn shouldn't be required to attend classes on wizarding culture.'"

"Poppycock," Sprout said. "That's what History of Magic is for!"

"Yes, well, the Governors seem to agree that it isn't enough," Gran said. "I tried, Dumbledore, I really did- but they've bought into Lucius's idea that the Muggleborn aren't integrating properly into Muggle culture, and with the Ministry leaning on them, too- we never had a chance, I'm afraid."

"Fudge has managed to force one more thing on them," Ashley said. "They've deemed the Muggle Studies requirement unenforceable- but skipping 'Wizarding Culture' is grounds for a severe punishment."

"Well," Lily said, trying to lighten the mood, "at least I won't have too many students to deal with in my first year." She regretted it almost immediately, based on the immediate reaction to her little joke, but at least Sirius and Ashley tried to cover for her by laughing good-naturedly.

"What else?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well," Gran said, "if you can't fill the Defense position once Alastor leaves, there won't be a Defense Against the Dark Arts at all- they'll just abolish the subject."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Snape said, sounding a bit too eager. "Headmaster, perhaps it is time that we consider-"

"No, Severus," Dumbledore said, raising a hand to silence him. "I already have someone in mind, as a matter of fact."

"Oh, is that so?" Sirius said, looking positively delighted that Snape's longtime dream was once again denied him. "Who's the lucky bloke, then?"

"Why, Sirius, I'm so delighted you asked," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "After all, Hogwarts would be honoured to have your presence amongst our staff."

"Pardon?" Sirius and Snape said at the same time. All Lily could do was collapse into a fit of giggles.

"Sorry," she said, accepting a handkerchief from Lupin to dab at the corner of her eyes.

"Albus," Sirius said, trying to regain control, "I can't teach."

"And I will not stand for this," Snape said, his voice cruel. "This is too far, Dumbledore."

"I cannot give you the position, Severus," Dumbledore said. "And giving it to Sirius gives you a sufficient enough reason to 'return to the Dark Lord's service,' does it not?"

"Yes, but-"

"And you have asked me to arrange a sufficient reason for you to do so, have you not?"

"Yes, but-"

"And here you have it," Dumbledore said, his tone signaling that the decision was final. "Sirius- you will apply for the position immediately. I daresay there will be no reason for an interview."

"I can't teach, Dumbledore," Sirius said again, his tone a bit more firm than the last time. "I've already got to be here for Lily. She can't-"

"Hazel will be coming with you, of course," Dumbledore said casually. "Hogwarts eagerly awaits her return, as well."

"This wasn't the deal, Dumbledore!" Sirius said, his rage barely veiled. "She's supposed to be here, where we can keep her safe!"

"She will be safer at Hogwarts in these coming days," Dumbledore said grimly. "I am sorry, Sirius. It was not my intention to deceive you- Severus, tell them what you have told me."

"The Dark Lord is returning, one way or the other," Snape said uncomfortably, no doubt wanting to protest the residence of his two least favourite people at Hogwarts. "I do not know the full details- I know only that something is planned for Lucius's wedding. He has invited all the former Death Eaters to his little masquerade- and even a few new ones."

"New Death Eaters?" Kingsley asked. "Who?"

"I do not know," Snape said, shrugging.

"He will bring you the names as soon as he has them, Kingsley," Dumbledore said. "For now, Severus will be in attendance, waiting to see whatever it is the Dark Lord has planned."

"And when is this little 'ceremony?'" Lily asked, eager for more information and desperately hoping this wasn't something she should already know.

"The evening of the Third Task," Dumbledore said.

"Not much time, is it?" one of the strangers said, laughing darkly.

"No, it is not," Dumbledore said.

"Which is why Lily should stay here," Sirius said through grit teeth. "She isn't safe at Hogwarts."

"Unfortunately," Dumbledore said, "she is not safe here, either."

"What are you implying?" Sirius said, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"For now, she has gone unharried due to the presence of the Fidelius Charm," Dumbledore said. "However, we have stretched the Secret too thin- at this current point of time, almost six dozen people know of Grimmauld Place and of what it is protecting. All it would take is a single one of us breaking under torture, and the secret itself would break with it."

"Then we dissolve the secret and move headquarters somewhere else," Sirius said.

"That isn't how the Charm works, Sirius," Flitwick said reluctantly. "The Fidelius can only be dissolved naturally by the death or destruction of what it is protecting- in this case, the Order itself would need to be destroyed in order to move it. Just disbanding temporarily to move headquarters wouldn't be enough- it's powerful magic. And when I say destroyed, I truly mean it- more than half of us would need to be killed, including Albus, or the house itself reduced to ash."

"In which case," Dumbledore added, "Hazel would no longer have a home in the first place."

"Of course, she would," Mrs. Weasley piped up quickly. "Lily always has a home with us," she added, patting her husband on the hand.

"We could move her to the Burrow," Bill added. "Maybe put up a new Fidelius?"
"Won't work," Arthur said, shaking his head. "If I'm to stay at the Ministry, they need to be able to reach me- and telling that many people about the Burrow would break the Fidelius on its own."

"Which leaves just Hogwarts for Hazel's ensured protection," Dumbledore finished. "Trust me, Sirius- we have already taken to precautions towards her safety."

"Like what?" Sirius said, scoffing in disbelief. "Organize another death tournament, have you?"

"That's not fair!" another stranger said, this one a dark-skinned young woman. "Dumbledore only helped with the Triwizard Tournament in the first place so we could foster international alliances."

"Yes, and it's just gone so well, Hestia," another stranger said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't you start."

"Please," Dumbledore said, raising his hand again. "Allow me to set your mind at ease, Sirius- I assure you, Hazel will be perfectly safe. Severus has agreed to resume his Head of House duties from Slughorn, and, in turn, he's also agreed to make Hazel one of two female Prefects from her House."

"And how's that supposed to help?" Lily asked, unable to hide a bit of excitement from her new position.

"Our student body has increased almost tenfold from what it was when young Hazel first joined us," Dumbledore said.

"Which really goes to show how small it was just a few years ago," Sprout added with a sad smile.

"Be that as it may," Dumbledore said, "we've seen fit to rollback a few policy changes made during the war. For starters, due to the increased size of both the student body and the castle itself, Prefects will be required to perform one nightly patrol per week. As such, they will be allowed to skip their morning classes the next day, in order to obtain much-needed rest. To ensure they are not kept up by their House, Prefects will have their own common room, mixed together with the other Houses and led by our Head Girl and Boy."

"So," Sirius said, "that's your plan, then? Isolate her further?"

Snape scoffed. "Do you have any idea how many Death Eater children reside within Slytherin, Black? If she stays down there once the war begins in earnest, she'll be dead within a week. Besides- she'll have Granger with her."

"Brilliant," Lily said, unable to hide her smile that time. She couldn't wait to tease Hermione with that particular piece of information.

"And is that it?" Sirius asked.

"Of course not," Pomfrey said. "Maraktis will be joining me in the Hospital Wing- he's agreed to leave Mungo's and join us as a counselor, so Potter will still have her Healer."

"Wonderful," Sirius said, not at all sounding like it was. "And what else?"

"She will have you, for starters," Dumbledore said. "She will also be forbidden from Quidditch."

"That doesn't seem particularly fair," Lily said, earning a sharp glare from Sirius. "Taking away her hobbies seems a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Muggles," another stranger said, snorting. "Keep up with the papers- there's not a single game Potter's played in where she didn't almost get herself killed."

"That's not entirely accurate," Lily said. "From what my daughter's told me, she's quite the brilliant player."

"And, yet, she's not won a single cup- Merlin, she's hardly won half her games!"

"Yeah?" Lily said. "Who are you, then, that can judge her so much?"

"Oh, apologies, Vera," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the balding, athletically built man. "This is Gunther Stranglehold."

"And I happen to play Beater for the Banchory Bangers, thank you very much," Gunther said. "So, I'd like to think I know a bit more about Quidditch than you."

Lily snorted. "Yeah, and I'm supposed to respect the opinion of a Banger. You lot only took one more game than the Cannons this season- but, please, do go on about how brilliant you are at Quidditch."

"Just look at the rest of the Hogwarts teams," Gunther said, his face growing a bright red. "Chang, Diggory, and Weasley all have a better record than Potter currently does."

"Not hard to do when they've played more games, is it?"

"Because the girl is too incompetent to stay out of the Hospital Wing for three quarters of the year!"

"Or- and hear me out, if you haven't taken too many bludgers to think properly- have you considered she might have played in fewer games because her own Housemates won't stop bullying her?" Lily said. "I mean- blimey, you'd be hard-pressed to put me on a broom to catch a Snitch for a bunch of ingrates."

"You're a Muggle," Gunther said. "A broom wouldn't work for you."

"And what's your excuse, then? I seem to recall Gwenog Jones knocking you off your seat twelve times in your last match. Even a little Muggle like me could fly circles around you."

Lily was too busy enjoying the seething, silent anger of the incompetent Beater to notice that everybody was giving her a strange look.

"Err," she said, her own face burning, "Hermione is very into Quidditch- it comes with being best mates with a Seeker prodigy."

"Interesting," Snape said skeptically, his dark eyes focused entirely on her. "I seem to recall that Miss Granger only attends the Slytherin games, and even those only when her 'best mate' happens to be playing. Strange behaviour for such a big Quidditch fan, don't you think?"

"Nice to know you keep a firm eye on a teenage girl," Lily said.

"Any associate of Potter needs constant watching," Snape said dismissively. "It comes with the company she keeps."

"And what, exactly, are you trying to imply?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"My apologies," Snape said, not sounding sorry at all, "but I do not believe you've truly deluded yourself into believing the twins do not need supervision."

"No," Mrs. Weasley said, sighing in defeat, "I suppose not."

"Well, I assure you my daughter does not require such supervision," Lily said, trying to salvage the situation.

"You will see soon enough," Snape said after a long pause that did nothing but unsettle Lily's nerves. "Potter has a way getting those around her in danger, whether they wish it or not."

"I'm still not convinced either of us will be going, thank you," Sirius said, still glaring at Dumbledore.

"Sirius," Maraktis said, speaking for the first time, "we've discussed this. Being around her peers is good for the girl."

Sirius snorted. "Molly. Tell me. That clock of yours- what's Lily's hand been on since she started living here full time?" Lily cursed silently, already knowing where this was going.

"'Home,'" Mrs. Weasley said, not quite up to speed.

"And what was it at before?" Sirius asked. "While she was at Hogwarts?"

"'Mortal Peril,'" Mrs. Weasley said, her lips pursing.

"But that's not quite the same, is it?" Mr. Weasley said. "We didn't know there was a Death Eater at the castle. She switched to 'school' as soon as he was driven out!"

That was news to Lily, but she supposed it was her fault for not checking any of the watches before coming home.

"Alright, sure," Sirius said. "Let's talk about how a Death Eater was allowed to slip unknown into our presence for months, then- and let's talk about this whole bloody tournament while we're at it, too!"

"Alastor was investing 'Belby,' Sirius," another stranger said, this one with a French accent (although not nearly as thick as Fleur's). "He could not move on her until he had significant evidence."

"And then he went and let 'her' disappear," Sirius said. "How does that happen, by the way? Doesn't the bloke have a magic eye capable of seeing everything?"

"Not nearly everything," Dumbledore said. "Just what it was made to see through- not even I could account for everything- I certainly did not take into account the castle growing so large when calculating its effective range. Alastor can not see every place in Hogwarts at one time, even if he were to stand in the very center. It is simply too large."

"He couldn't at least stay within the range of the most suspicious person in the school?" Sirius asked.

"Alastor has many other duties," Dumbledore said.

"But he could have-"

"Accept your ignorance, Black," Snape said with a cruel sneer. "It's impossible to keep a constant eye on any individual in Hogwarts, with or without a magic eye."

"Or maybe you just aren't trying hard enough," Sirius said.

"Severus is right, Sirius," McGonagall said grimly. "There are too many students- especially during this tournament- and far too few staff. We were already stretched to our limit before the other schools arrived. We'd hoped the foreign faculties would be able to make up for the difference, but with a few exceptions-" McGonagall gestured to the Frenchman- "they have been stubbornly refusing to cooperate. In fact, quite a few members of the Durmstrang faculty seem to be taking this as a chance for an extended holiday, and they won't even attend the class sessions they are supposed to be teaching."

"Which is something we plan to correct immediately," Dumbledore said before Sirius could protest. "Not counting you and Maraktis, we plan to hire an additional twelve members of staff."

"And believe me," Gran said with a snort, "that was a hard sell. Lucius would love nothing more than to slash the budget, but I managed to convince enough of us to increase it, instead."

"Plus," Ashley said, patting her boyfriend's hand, "there's Fudge's proposal to station Aurors on the grounds for extra security. Guess who has volunteered for that exact position?"

"Wotcher," Tonks said, raising her hand and winking at him.

"Brilliant," Sirius said. "One Order member and a dozen other Fudge sycophants chosen specifically to keep an eye on Dumbledore."

"Actually," Kingsley said, taking a sip of his cup of coffee. "I've been chosen to head the committee- meaning I get to pick the individuals sent to guard the grounds."

"Oh," Sirius said, relaxing a bit into his seat.

"I've had to choose a few of Fudge's cronies, yes," Kingsley said, "but I've put them where they can do the least harm. There'll only be one Auror on the inside- an expert at disguise, pretending to be a transfer student from Beauxbatons choosing to remain at Hogwarts for her final year."

"Wonder who that lovely individual could possibly be?" Tonks said happily.

"Alright, fine," Sirius said grumpily. "Fine- what are we doing about the tournament, then?"

"We are taking as many precautions as we can, Sirius," Dumbledore said. "Aurors will be flying over the maze at all times, and Tonks and Kingsley both will be keeping a sharp eye on Lily. Ludo will place the cup in the center of the maze prior to its beginning, and Severus has heard of no plans to interfere in the proceedings."

"Lucius seems a bit overeager to be wed, as a matter of fact," Snape added, "and he keeps hinting at 'special entertainment-' but, as the Minister himself will be in attendance- as well as a hundred other prominent individuals who have no interest in siding with the Death Eaters- I see no reason why Potter would be in any more danger than usual."

"Which does beg the question of why bother interfering in the tournament at all?" Kingsley said. "Why get Potter entered? What's the game plan?"

"As far as I can tell?" Snape said, shrugging. "To get her killed. Lucius has been hinting that our Lord's return is nigh- and that the victor of the tournament will play a large part- but we will find nothing else out until his wedding. He will say no more."

"And what's your guess, Albus?" an elderly man asked, looking at Dumbledore. "We all know you have one."

"One of the potions Crouch had Hazel make while under the guise of Althaia Belby was a Regeneration Potion," Dumbledore said after a long pause of choosing his words carefully.

Another of the strangers let out a long whistle. "Very impressive," she said.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "doubly so considering what I believe its intended purpose is- to restore Lord Voldemort to a body."

The entirety of the table went quiet, and Lily had to stop herself from swearing. She could feel Sirius glaring at her- this was definitely something she should have mentioned earlier. How did Dumbledore even know?

"A Regeneration Potion won't be enough on its own," Pomfrey said keenly.

"Correct," Dumbledore said. "But- this isn't just a Regeneration Potion. It is one made by Lord Voldemort's greatest enemy, the very one who slew him- that gives it more power for him, in particular, than it would otherwise. Even so, you are right that it will not be enough. It is a shame that the grave of Tom Riddle Sr.- Voldemort's father- was found empty a month ago."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" someone asked.

"I only found out myself a few days ago," Dumbledore said, grabbing at his beard. "I must admit- I have failed in this regard. I did not keep as close an eye on it as I should have. With it, and with Lily's potion, he may not even require the third ingredient- the blood of an enemy."

"If he doesn't, his new body won't last long," Pomfrey said. "If someone loses their body in St. Mungo's, the potion itself will only buy them enough time to settle their matters."

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "Which is why Voldemort has worked so hard to obtain Hazel's blood, and why it is such a good thing that he has failed thus far. But, even with all of this, I believe his new form would still only be temporary- perhaps a few years at best. Enough time to find himself a more permanent vessel."

"If he already has everything he needs, then what's stopping him from coming back now?" another woman asked. "All he'd have to do is kidnap any auror who fought against him to fulfill his last requirement."

"I believe- and so does Voldemort- that Hazel's blood will not only lengthen the time he has in his temporary form," Dumbledore said, "but to also increase its power. I also believe that Voldemort's desperation will win out in the end- that he believes that the winner of the Triwizard Tournament itself will suffice."

"Which is why Tonks and I will be there at the Task," Kingsley said. "To make sure that, whatever happens, the winner doesn't get taken."

"Precisely," Dumbledore said. "Once Ludo places the cup, do not let it out of your sights. One of you must remain near it at all times. Mark my words- there is not a doubt in my mind that Voldemort will return before the summer is over. If we can keep him weak, it is all the better for us."

"What's stopping him from taking someone during Lucius's wedding?" Sirius asked. "What's stopping him from just coming back right then and there, and taking everything over?"

"The Minister will be present at the wedding," Kingsley reiterated. "That means an Auror presence- twenty of us are going in with him. That's not counting the hundred others that Snape mentioned before- it'll be too dangerous to try and take any of the guests unwillingly. Just one of us notices something, and it's all over for him."

"Kingsley is correct," Dumbledore said. "I believe the wedding is nothing more than a distraction- something to take my attention elsewhere. If I am correct, then the real attempt at taking Hazel- or, indeed, whoever wins the tournament- will come after. This is a show of force and nothing more- a chance to gather allies and discuss his real plans. We must be on guard, yes- and we will be- but Severus is in agreement. Until and unless new information is presented to us, I see no reason to believe anyone is in any danger from anything but the task itself."

"Well, that went quite well, I think," Lily said to Sirius once they were alone.

"Dumbledore's been wrong before," Sirius said, drinking his whiskey like he was nursing a headache. "We still have to be careful."

"Yeah, well," Lily said, thinking about something else. "Err- so- so, next weekend, Hogwarts is doing a- well, it's a play, really, and I was wondering if I could-"

"Lily, you can't be serious," Sirius said, gesturing to the empty table where they'd just been discussing her impending doom. "After everything you just heard, why do you think I'd let you out of the house before I have to?"

"Oh, come on!" Lily said. "I'm not in any danger right now! You heard it yourself- my clock hand says so!"

"This isn't a discussion, Lily," Sirius said, downing the rest of his drink. "Go and get changed, Maraktis is waiting for you- and I'm certainly not having this talk with Vera Granger."

"Please, Sirius!" Lily said, shaking her head while she returned her hair and face to normal. "I promise, I'll be safe- I'll just go to the show and then come straight back- I won't even stop to snog!"

"Snog?" Sirius said, raising an eyebrow. "And who are you going with, exactly?"

"Err- Mandy Brocklehurst," Lily said, regretting her particular choice of words. "I- err- Hermione brought me a couple tickets, see, and she said Mandy fancied me, so I asked her and- and we were going to go together and just- just see what happens?"

"Right," Sirius said, standing with his cup. "Well- you'll have to write back and cancel, I'm afraid."

"But-"

"Please, Lily," Sirius said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just let me have a few more weeks of peace of mind. I already have to deal with both of us going back to Hogwarts. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I mean, really, what's his problem?" Lily said, pulling at her hair and pacing back and forth in front of Maraktis half an hour later. "'Don't do anything I wouldn't do.' He is aware that he's the same person who became an illegal animagus to support his werewolf best mate, isn't he?"

"Oh, I'm certain he is," Maraktis said.

"So why does he get to go and do whatever he wants but I can't?"

"Well, Hazel, have you considered that he wants you to be better than he was?"

Lily snorted. "Forcing me to do what he wants sure is one way to go about it, then."

"Sirius is new to this whole 'parenting' thing," Maraktis said. "He's doing his best, Hazel- and you do have quite the track record for going against the grain."

"But it's not fair!" Lily said. "Honest- I do everything he tells me, but I don't get to do a thing that I want to do!"

"He arranged for your friend to visit you for two weeks," Maraktis said.

"Well- yeah, but-"

"And, every night, he goes on your run with you," Maraktis said. "Plus, I'm told you've gotten a 'movie' night going with Ashley."

"Well- yeah, but- err- I can't even keep my wand!" Lily said. "We had to keep using Hermione's just to finish up my watches, because even with her around, I couldn't have it!"

"And what would you have done with it if you were given it?"

"I dunno," Lily admitted, collapsing onto the sofa. "I need to fix my Walkman still- probably that?"

"I'll talk to him again," Maraktis said.

"I- err-" Lily said, chewing on her lip briefly. "I also need to practice for the Third Task, but- well-"

"But, what?"

"I don't really want to," Lily admitted. "Honestly, it's- I know I complain about it a lot, but- but it has been nice just not worrying about anything for a bit."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Lily said happily. "Snape left me a long list of Potions, see, and since I don't have my wand-" she said a bit too angrily- "I've been focusing on those, too. I know I'm supposed to still be on my 'prescribed holiday,' but- but- err- Ashley wanted to teach me Potions, and when I showed her my list she- err- well, she got excited about it, and then I got excited about it, and now it's only been a few days but we're already halfway through it."

"Well, at least that gives you less to do once you do return to yours studies," Maraktis said with a friendly chuckle.

"Honestly, I- I don't really have that much to do," Lily said, running a hand through her hair. "It's all the paperwork I'm behind on- I already learned most of the spells just training for the tournament, but Sirius says I write like a second year."

"Unfortunately, the ability to write an essay is a large part of your OWLs," Maraktis said. "The written portion of the exams accounts for slightly over half of your total marks."

"Which is total dragon dung!" Lily said. "Honestly, who cares about the who's and what's of the seventh Goblin rebellion when I can- sorry, we're getting off topic, this isn't really what I wanted to talk about."

"Your schooling is the largest portion of your life, Hazel," Maraktis said. "It's only natural that most of your worries are about them- but, please, go on. What do you want to talk about?"

"I just want to go this stupid play with Mandy Brocklehurst," Lily said quickly. "Only- Sirius won't let me, even though we both have to go to Hogwarts, anyway, so what's it matter if I go back for just one lousy day so I can have a date?"

"Interesting," Maraktis said. "And how would you know you're returning to Hogwarts, when we've only just had that discussion?"

"Err-"

"I'm only joking, Mrs. Granger," Maraktis said teasingly. "I know your lying habits well enough by now to recognize you, Hazel. And don't think Dumbledore's fooled- I'm sure he was only playing along so everybody else would believe it."

"Right," Lily said. "Well- well, it's just one day, and- and I just want to go on a date because it's been so long and- and I deserve it." Lily crossed her arms and nodded firmly. "My life is rubbish and I deserve to go on one little date and kiss one girl, don't I?"

"I believe I've told you so myself," Maraktis said, chuckling and writing something in his journal.

"So- so- err- do you think you could- err- ask him for me?"

"Of course, I can," Maraktis said. "But that doesn't guarantee anything, does it?"

"What do you mean?" Lily said, blinking slowly.

"Well, Hazel," Maraktis said. "If you honestly want to go, then I believe this calls for a new prescription: a healthy dose of teenaged rebellion."

The next week was full of being agonizingly sweet and obedient. Not a single time did she raise her voice or imply that she wasn't perfectly content with her situation. Or, at least, that's what she would have liked to be the truth. The reality of it was that she was nearly insufferable.

"Lily, please just eat," Sirius would say during any one of their daily three meals.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she'd say back. "I wasn't aware I'm allowed to eat bread. Wheat can be so dangerous, you see. What if I choked?"

"I thought we were over this, Lily," Sirius said. "Honestly. Do we have to argue about this every day?"

"I don't know. Do we?"

"Look," Sirius said. "I'm sorry, alright? This is your last week of time off, Lily. Let's not waste this last weekend. Why don't we go for a walk, rent a movie, and just forget about all this? I can give Ashley a ring, if you want. Alright?"

"I think I'm going to go paint, actually," Lily said, pushing her own plate away and standing from her seat.

"Lily-"

"Do not bother me," Lily snapped.

She knew she was being a bit unfair, but her own anxiety over what she was about to do was really starting to get to her. As soon as she was in her room, she shut the door behind her and clicked the lock shut. Then, she took a deep breath. One of her old Beauxbatons uniforms was laying on her bed; the light, summer ones, rather than what they'd worn to Hogwarts ages ago (Hermione wrote a few days ago saying Hogwarts had been scorching, lately). She put it on, surprised that she only barely fit into it (she had to do a bit of creative morphing), and then gave herself a good look in her wardrobe mirror. Honestly, it was a shame she'd never be allowed back to the school; she looked great in their uniform. Of course, she wasn't going as herself, but that was hardly the point.

She checked the later from Mandy sitting on her desk before doing anything else.

Dear Lily,

Got it! Blonde hair, blue eyes, look for your earrings. I'm REALLY looking forward to tonight! Just remember: no one else knows what we're doing, and I'd like to keep it that way!

I might be convinced to sneak off early and find a nice, empty closet, though, as a special thanks.

Merlin, I can't believe I just wrote that. I'll see you tonight!

Much love,

Mandy Brocklehurst

Lily took another deep breath and then changed her hair and face to match what she wrote. Then, she grabbed her rope from under her bed- made from a bunch of bedsheets- and walked out onto her balcony for the first time in- well, ever, really. It was a bit chilly here in London, and she wished she'd grabbed a travel cloak just for this portion, at least, but she knew if she went back inside to get one she'd lose her nerve entirely. Adjusting her little hat so it'd sit firm on her head, she tied one end of her rope to the balcony railing. She'd done her calculating; Sirius wouldn't be able to see it from inside the house, and, if everything went well, she'd be back in her room before he was any the wiser. Giving the rope a good tug to make sure it was secure, she slid her legs over and began the long climb down. She had to at least be on the ground outside the house before she could apparate away from it; the wards on the building didn't allow it from the inside.

Just a few minutes later, she appeared in the middle of Hogsmeade, absolutely certain that she'd find Sirius waiting for her. Instead, nobody paid her any mind at all, and she walked as quickly as she could towards the path to the castle. Once she reached it, she started running, laughing to herself and feeling free. She didn't slow down until she could see the stone walls of Hogwarts, where a certain girl was waiting for her by the gates to the grounds.

"Hello," Mandy Brocklehurst said, waving to her uncertainly, eyes glancing towards her ears. That was when Lily realized her hair was covering the things.

"It's me," Lily said, hardly even needing to catch her breath. She brushed a bit of sweaty bangs from her forehead, though, to let the girl get a look at her scar.

"Lily!" Mandy said, face lighting up in far more excitement. She stepped forward, as if going for a hug, only to stop just a couple feet away so they could awkwardly shake hands instead. "Err- Polyjuice doesn't cover up the scar, then?"

"It does," Lily said, patting her hair down to make sure it was covered. "I just- err- didn't use any. You- you look brilliant!"

Well, she looked like she usually did, but it felt entirely different when Lily knew this was a date and that she might potentially get a snog out of it. Her long, brown hair tumbled past her shoulders, and she was currently busy spinning a lock of it around one of her fingers, her crystal-like blue eyes scanning Lily's body up and down as if searching for something to focus on.

Lily took a deep breath to steady her sudden nerves. She'd rehearsed how this date was going to go several times over the past few days, and all she had to do was stick to the plan.

"Right," Mandy said, giggling like- well, like an excited schoolgirl. "Merlin, this- this is brilliant. You're here!"

"I'm here!" Lily said, throwing her arms up. "How long do we got?"

"Show starts in fifteen," Mandy said, reaching out as if to grab her hand, thinking better of it, and then using it to brush some hair out of her face, instead. "Come on, it's- they built the stage in the Quidditch stadium, now that the Cup is over."

"Let me guess," Lily said, quickly falling into step with her. "Krum took it?"

"Big shock, I know. We came close, though! Cho was so close to taking a Snitch off of him!"

Stick to the plan.

"Right, but let's not talk about her," Lily said, hoping that was the correct thing to say. "I just want to hear about you."

It certainly seemed to be, because the instant she said it, Mandy couldn't stop talking about herself. Lily learned she was a half-blood (mum's a witch, dad's a Muggle), that she absolutely adored Care of Magical Creatures (even with Hagrid teaching it; she was one of the few Ravenclaws still taking the class), and that, once she was finished with school, she wanted nothing more to become a Magizoologist. Really, once animals came up, that was all either of them could talk about, and they did so well into when the play had already started. In fact, the first act of it passed completely without either girl listening to or watching a single part of it.

"-so, anyway," Mandy was saying, whispering quietly into her ear, "we've got a whole brood of Flying Seahorses back in our pond."

"Really?" Lily asked.

"Oh, you'd love them," Mandy said, touching her on the arm lightly. "We found the first few in the Black Lake- somebody imported Fwoopers and then just let them go, can you believe that?"

"Honestly, I hate people like that," Lily said. "Screws everything up, don't it? Fwoopers aren't supposed to be anywhere near England, but they've been eating up as many of our creatures as they can."

"Exactly!" Mandy said. "Anyway- I rescued them myself, had to nurse them back to health by hand, but now we've got almost a hundred. Pretty soon, we'll need to start rehoming them- our pond just isn't big enough to support much more. I've been keeping track of the local frogs and toads, to make sure they don't start declining, and last spring their tadpole numbers were just starting to go down- so, it's pretty much- blimey, she's pretty, isn't she?"

Lily turned her head away from Brocklehurst back towards the stage to see what she was talking about. What she found was Fleur wearing an exquisite dress and acting her little heart out. There was a time when Lily would have been mesmerized- but, now, staring at the woman, she was finding it hard to figure out what she so fancied in the first place.

Stick to the plan, she reminded herself. She didn't have time to wonder about other things.

"Yeah," Lily said, turning her head away. "Not really my type, though."

"Really?" Mandy said, still looking at the French vixen.

Lily leaned in real close, her lips just hovering over Mandy's over, and placed her hand over one of hers.

"I've got more of a thing for Brunettes, to be honest," she said as quietly as she could.

Mandy's head turned, their faces so close, their eyes locked together.

"Walk me back to my dorm?" Mandy said, her voice thick.

Lily could feel the tension in the air as they walked through the mostly empty castle. Honestly, up until they reached Ravenclaw Tower, she was starting to worry that she'd messed something up. They stopped outside the door while Lily tried to figure out what words would salvage the situation. Mandy took two quick looks around.

And then she stepped close, grabbed Lily by the collar of her blazer, and pulled her face down for a kiss. It was over far quicker than Lily would have liked, but as they pulled away, it left them both breathless and flushed.

"You know," Mandy said after taking a moment to clear her throat, still holding Lily's collar. "I- I might be able to sneak you into the dorm, if- if you're willing to take the risk."

"Really?" Lily said stupidly.

"The other girls are at the play," Mandy said, voice still thick. "We should have at least an hour."

"No, I-" Lily said, swallowing down the lump of longing in her throat. "I should be getting back before Sirius figures out I'm gone. Maybe- maybe next time?"

"Next time, then," Mandy said, positively beaming and finally letting Lily go after locking their lips together one last time.

Lily practically skipped out of the castle. She felt like she could fly even without using a broom. She ran again, once she hit the trail out of the castle, before realizing she could just apparate from here. As soon as she popped in front of Grimmauld place, she allowed herself to have one last bout of happy, excited giggles, before creeping silently towards the house. She'd need to write Mandy as soon as she was in- as well as another letter thanking Hermione for the tickets and letting her know how the date went. She didn't even remember climbing up her makeshift rope. The next thing she knew, her feet were touching balcony, and she was sliding the glass door to step into her room.

That's where she found Sirius waiting for her, sitting on her bed and shaking his head in disapproval.