Chapter 88
Birthdays, Results and the Future
Note from J.M. Jackson: Apologies for the delay, once again real life gets in the way. Within the next few weeks, I may have to start updating every two weeks, because I have gotten behind with the writing, but I'm going to try and press forward, so that doesn't happen. Meanwhile, here's two chapters, as an apology and because I love both chapters.
The next few days leading to Lily's birthday were hectic, with Molly and the Weasleys spending most of their time at Grimmauld Place. Lily could understand why; Molly was still grieving over Arthur's loss, and of course, being at the Burrow would be a constant reminder of what she had lost. When she was at Grimmauld Place, however, she kept things lively.
The morning of Lily's birthday brought some low tidings, though it wasn't terrible.
"There were three attacks last week, two on muggles, and one from someone who didn't do anything wrong, I suspect they were just in the wrong place," Bill Weasley said.
"And they found Karkaroff's body in an abandoned shack up north. I'm surprised he lasted so long," Charlie commented.
"Has anyone found any trace of Bagman yet?" Lily asked.
"Oh, we know where he is. The Ministry found out the Goblin's have him working in one of their mines. Normally, they'd try and get him out, but right now, the Ministry needs to keep the Goblin's on their good side," Bill commented. "Not gonna shed a tear; he's alive, and well, just going to be working for the rest of his life."
"I'm not sorry for him," Lily said coldly. "He deserves it, at the very least."
"Maybe. The Goblin's have promised he won't be harmed, he's paying back what he owes through labour," Bill told her. "There are Goblins I know and like well enough, but if anyone enters into an agreement with a Goblin, they need to keep to it. They consider it binding, even without a contract, and their magic means they can replay an agreement visually for anyone, plus they make the best armour and weapons, and even equipment."
"Like the Sword of Gryffindor?" Lily asked. "Professor Dumbledore said it was Goblin made."
"Which makes sense. It'd remain clean always, it repels anything that might weaken it, and absorb anything that strengthens it," Charlie said.
"I've got a tiara from my Aunt Muriel, Goblin made. It's beautiful; I wore it on my wedding day," Molly said, with a small smile. "Maybe Ginny or you will wear it one day."
Lily felt herself blushing slightly at the thought. She then smiled as she remembered something she wanted to tell everyone.
"There was something I wanted to tell everyone. I thought it would be great to share today, to make everyone smile," Lily said. She looked at her friends, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Padma, Parvati, as well as Ginny, Minerva, Remus, Sirius, Charlie, Tonks, Bill, Fleur, Sophie, and Molly. "When I went with Professor Dumbledore to meet Professor Slughorn, we had a little time to just sit down and talk, and he told me that he found a way to magically complete my transition!"
There were cheers from all around the table, with everyone congratulating her on the wonderful news. Lily felt herself blushing from the applause and well wishes but felt really good. She hadn't felt this good since Dumbledore had told her, and before that it had been a long time.
There was also news of Percy receiving a promotion at work; he was now running his own department at the Ministry. Molly was clearly proud of him.
"Percy's been working really hard at work, he's got ten people reporting to him," Molly explained.
Percy was running the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive spells, which involved making sure people were caught and arrested for trying to scam people with fake potions, or finding dangerous items being disguised in simple innocuous items. He had been told that his father would have been perfect for the role,
"Percy was able to find a box of cursed Sneakoscopes that had to be planted by a Death Eater. The person selling them didn't even realise; Percy had them sent to St. Mungo's, thinking he might have been put under the Imperius Curse," Molly explained.
"Sounds hectic," Lily replied. "He must be keeping busy."
"Oh, he is," Molly confirmed, smiling. "He's at work now, although he did send a present."
"That was sweet of him," Lily smiled, as Moody and Tonks arrived, joining in the breakfast meal, after wishing Lily a happy birthday.
After breakfast was Lily's favourite time; presents! She opened Ginny's one first, a picture of the two of them together in a frame that Ginny had made, as well as a heart necklace, and new books. Percy had brought her several items of jewellery, with a note saying how each had been enchanted with the Feminam Vox spell, for which Lily was thankful.
Hermione's gift had been books, all relating to spells and potions, whilst Lavender, Parvati, and Padma had brought Lily a new potions case, similar to what she had seen Professor Slughorn use, something she was very thankful for.
Of course, she had shared the information about her mother with her friends the day after, which meant the girls hadn't had too long to find and buy the case. She hugged each of them, thanking them for it; she had already decided she wanted to follow her mother's footsteps and be a potions master, as well as an Auror.
Sirius and Remus had brought her a new wardrobe of clothes, with some beautiful dresses as well, whilst also getting her some new games for her PlayStation 1, Alien Trilogy, FIFA 96, and Doom. She also got games for her Super Nintendo, Asterix and Obelix, Toy Story, and Micro Machines 2, all of which she was looking forward to playing.
It felt nice to be able to experience her sixteenth birthday in relative normality, without anyone threatening to hurt her, or some sort of danger. She thanked everyone, hugging them all in gratitude, whilst fighting hard to not break down in tears at how thankful she was.
She felt more emotional than usual, although Molly warned her that was likely a result of the potions, since she was on a stronger dose now, to help prepare her for the final part of her transition.
Lily didn't care how emotional she was going to get; she was so thankful to have all her friends… no, her family… there with her.
As she finished unwrapping her presents, Minerva smiled, and stood up. "Now, I have something for all of them. I asked Albus to let me deliver these personally," Minerva said, opening her bag, and handing Lily, Hermione, Ron, Lavender, Padma, and Parvati a letter each.
"Oh my goodness, our O.W.L results!" Hermione squealed. She was shaking slightly, which made Lily smile softly.
"Hermione, we know you've passed everything," Lily said.
"Of course you have, Hermione, come on, we know how brilliant you are," Ron said, opening his letter, just as the others all opened theirs.
Lily looked at her results, and smiled, just as Sirius looked at her quizzically. She looked at the results again, reading them out.
"I didn't fail anything, although, no offense to Professor Binns, Uncle Sirius, your teachings helped me pass History of Magic," Lily said. "I got an Acceptable in Astronomy, and History of Magic, Exceeds Expectations in Herbology, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and O in Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions, Muggle Studies, and Transfiguration."
"I would have been disappointed if you had gotten less than an E in my class, Lily, but I am very proud of you," Minerva said, hugging Lily. "You did brilliantly. I know Professor Snape is also very pleased with your results, not that he'd tell you."
"I know, there's a lot to do now, but I wanted to make sure I passed. I mean, after everything we went through last year, and all the extra lessons Aunt Minnie, I had to make sure I passed," Lily said.
Molly was looking proudly at Ron. "Seven O.W.L's, that's more than Fred and George put together! I'm so proud of you, Ron," Molly exclaimed.
"See, you did amazingly, Hermione," Fleur complimented.
"I could have done better," Hermione commented. Lily stole a quick glance at Hermione's results.
"Hermione, you got an E in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Outstanding in everything else! How can you be disappointed?" Lily exclaimed, her eyes widening.
"I just…I know I didn't do as well as I could have. I still struggle with the Patronus Charm, and I confused a couple of spells, Umbridge being there made me get a little flustered," Hermione said.
"Hermione Granger, you are ze best witch I have ever known, and I am lucky to have you as my girlfriend. I love you completely, and zere is no one I would trust more. You need to have more faith in yourself," Fleur insisted.
"She's right, Hermione," Lavender said. "You did better than all of us, and I know you don't brag about how brilliant you are, but we're all proud of how brilliant you are. You're the reason we all did so well."
"You're just saying that," Hermione was blushing as she spoke, so Lily knew none of the group were buying her modesty.
"Take some pride in your brilliance, Hermione," Ron insisted. "I always wanted a sister like you. I love having Ginny as my sister, but having you as well always makes me happy. Whenever we spend time together, I feel smarter afterwards. When I spend time with Ginny, I feel more confident."
"What about Fred and George? How do you feel when you've spent time with them?" Lily asked.
"Lucky to be alive," Ron replied, prompting a round of laughter from everyone.
"We're going to see their shop within the next week, we're preparing for a trip to Diagon Alley," Molly said. "They've been doing so well with their business. I knew they could do more than their pranks, but I never expected to see their jokes and pranks doing so well."
"They've always been skilled, so it makes sense they'll make a new joke shop in history. Zonko's will have nothing on them," Hermione complimented.
"They've been so busy with work; they usually sleep in the flat above the shop. I just think of all the time that I insulted their pranks, and yet…you know, you helped me change my mind, Lily," Molly said.
"I did?" Lily asked, confused.
"When you gave them the Triwizard Cup Winnings, I began to rethink their plans. I know you wouldn't have done something like that if you weren't completely confident in them," Molly admitted. "I then felt ashamed for not trusting my sons, and when I spoke to Arthur, he told me that we had to let them be their own people."
"I just knew the world would need their brand of humour, given how dark things were going to get," Lily said. "I've seen their pranks and the work they do. Like Hermione said, I knew they could do so much more if they were motivated, and working on their shop gave them the push they needed."
"I'm proud of you, Lily," Minerva said. "Not many people would have done what you did. I don't know anyone who would have without the two of them needing to pay for it after."
"How do you mean?" Lily frowned, curious at the comment.
"Usually, when someone gives a new business a loan like that, there's a repayment plan, a lot of interest to be repaid, or a share in the business given away," Minerva said. "But you didn't even think of any of that, did you?"
"Why would I? Do people actually think like that?" Lily asked. Everyone laughed softly.
"Lily, remind me to teach you more about how the business world works. Don't ever change who you are, but I don't want someone bad to take advantage of you," Sirius told her. Lily nodded.
"Now, I know you're still on holiday, but I want to speak with all of you today," Minerva said. "You're going to be starting your N.E.W.T studies this year, and so we need to discuss your future's. Since Umbridge is gone, we can plan together properly."
"I was thinking of going to work for the Ministry," Hermione said immediately to nobody's surprise. "I want to join the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"That's an excellent plan, Hermione," Minerva complimented. "The Ministry will be lucky to have you working for them."
"I kind of want to do what Dad did," Ron said. "Make sure people don't hurt others with enchanted muggle artefacts."
"I'll speak to someone this week and see if I can get you at the Ministry for a day or two next month, to see what it's like," Moody said. "I think that's a noble plan."
"I want to work with my parents in their shop," Lavender said, smiling. "I love helping people style their hair."
"So, you'll be needing to focus on charms for your N.E.W.T's then, Lavender," Minerva said, making a note with a pen and a pad of paper. "I'll make sure to get your schedule suited for that."
"Thank you, Professor," Lavender said, with a smile.
"I don't know what I want to do yet," Parvati admitted. "I was thinking of trying to be an Auror, although I know my parents want me to do something safe."
"Why were you thinking about the Auror office, Miss Patil?" Moody asked, looking at her.
"After we fought at the Ministry, I know it was dangerous, but it felt… it felt amazing, fighting to stop You-Know-Who," Parvati admitted.
"Aye, that it is lass. Fighting for the greater good is fulfilling, but damned dangerous. Still, if you can come over every day during the next month, I'll train you alongside Potter," Moody told her.
"Thank you, Professor," Parvati smiled.
"I'll be doing the same, if that's okay Professor?" Padma asked.
"Lass, I'm always happy to train any of you who wants to fight. It won't be easy, but I'm proud of all of your dedication. I'd be proud to fight alongside all of you," Moody complimented.
"I…" Lily began but stopped as she looked at the ground. "I know what I have to do, until the war is over, but beyond that… I don't know what I want to do. I mean, I want to help fight, but I also want to find who I am outside of a war."
"Lass, there's nothing to be ashamed in not knowing. Right now, you're struggling because everyone has had their expectations of you, but you get to decide. If I might suggest something, train to be an Auror, but also study your potions. You're already a damned good flier, so you can always play professional quidditch, and those three things give you options," Moody told her. Lily smiled.
"That's a good idea, Professor," she said, nodding. "I like it."
"Then for the next month, we'll be helping all of you preparing for your future. I'll take any of you to the Ministry, for a tour, and you can see how the departments work, and what you'll be doing when you start working there," Moody told them. "Normally, underage wizards aren't allowed, but all of you are special. You've done more than most adult wizards ever will, and you deserve to be treated as such."
Lily knew it would be interesting, to see how things worked at the Ministry, but in that moment, all she knew is that her future was uncertain. Would she even have a future? The prophecy she had destroyed, the one she had been told about, said that neither could live whilst the other survived. What would that mean for her? Would she be able to win, or would they both die in the end?