Chapter 17

Rats, Quidditch and Dangers.

When the next Quidditch match of the season was advertised – Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw - Lily had been trying and failing to complete some homework in the library when she saw Oliver Wood approach her from her periphery. She had a pretty good idea on what he was going to say.

"Lily, I'm worried about you playing, what with the Dementors still nearby," Wood got straight to the point, sitting down on the empty chair next to her with an apologetic, awkward expression on his face.

"I understand, Oliver. But you don't need to worry, either; I've been learning how to get rid of them if they come near me again," Lily explained with a reassuring smile. "My Uncle Sirius has been teaching me the Patronus Charm."

"The Patronus Charm? Seriously? Even 7th year students struggle to use that spell. I know you're a powerful Witch but are you sure it'll be strong enough to stop a swarm of Dementors?" Oliver asked. Lily thought of the memory of Christmas, her first official one as Lily, and cast the spell. From the tip of her wand, a shape of an indistinguishable animal burst free. It hovered protectively around her.

"What do you think?" Lily inquired. "I know I still have work to do but-"

Oliver laughed happily. "You continue to surprise and amaze, Lily. So that means all we need to do is sort out a broom. My cousin, he has a Nimbus 2000 as well. I can ask him if we can borrow it for the time being?"

"There might be no need to do that. I was given a broom for Christmas, but my uncle thinks it could have been sent by Remus Lupin. He's checking it out now, and he's promised if it isn't ready by the time the match comes, he'll sort out a replacement for me," Lily said.

"What broom?" Oliver asked, curious.

"A Firebolt."

Oliver's eyes lit up. "Seriously? A real Firebolt? I mean… Merlin's beard, that's incredible! I… I'll speak to your uncle, and to Professor McGonagall. A Firebolt…"

"Please don't. I know they just care about me, and they're being careful. I mean, let's face it, if somehow Lupin did get that broom to me, I'd feel awful if someone rode it and they got hurt, or killed," Lily reasoned with a one-sided shrug. "Believe me, handing it over before even getting to ride it just about killed me, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Good point. I'll speak to my cousin anyway, let him know that we might need his broom. That way, it'll be a broom you know, and you can train with it until your Firebolt is tested properly," Oliver said. "In the meantime, keep practising the Patronus and be careful."

"I will," she promised firmly.

Despite her progress with the Patronus Charm over the next few weeks, Lily found herself worried about the upcoming Quidditch match. Her dreams were full of the chilling screams of her mother, and she often found herself in the common room when everyone else was asleep, stroking Hedwig.

Training with the Nimbus was going well but as the days got closer to the match, Lily's hope at the Firebolt being free from curses was fading. After Friday's lesson had finished, Lily made her way to Sirius's office. She knocked on the door and Sirius opened moments later, showing that Professor McGonagall was also visiting.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not interrupting, am I?" Lily asked. "I could come back?"

"No need. In fact, we were about to come and find you," Sirius said. He reached behind his desk and pulled out the Firebolt, looking as good as new.

"We had it fully checked, and it's perfect. No tampering of any kind," Minerva added, smiling at Lily.

She accepted the broom, looking at it with reverence. "I have a Firebolt!" she exclaimed, grinning.

"The Firebolt is a lot faster, and incredibly sensitive to changes in pressure. Use it improperly and you could end up severely injured, or worse," Sirius said. "Make sure you practise with other teammates, alright? Just until you're used to it." At Lily's nod, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Get going, then. I'm sure your friends will want to see your broom."

As soon as Lily burst into the common room with the Firebolt held protectively in her hands, the easy chatter died down and eyes turned to her… and her broom.

"You got it back?" Ron asked loudly, a beam already crossing his face. At Lily's nod, he "whooped!" in excitement and fought with the Gryffindor Quidditch team to reach her, and the Firebolt, first.

"It's beautiful," Angelina Johnson sighed happily. "You're so lucky."

"Ravenclaw don't have a chance in hell of winning," Oliver smirked. "The Firebolt are used by professionals!"

"Can I have a go?" Ron butted in. "I'll take good care of it!"

Lily laughed. "Tomorrow, it's getting late and I'm hungry."

"Come join us in training tomorrow," Oliver offered to Ron. "After all, there's gonna be a need for a new keeper next year, so training might be a good idea."

"Awesome, thanks Oliver," Ron grinned. "I'll be back in a minute; I need to give Scabbers his tonic."

Lily couldn't get the smile off her face as everyone ooed and aahed at the Firebolt, but her grin faded as a scream of horror came from the boy's dorm. Seconds later, Ron came storming back down dragging his duvet with him.

"SCABBERS IS GONE!" Ron cried out, flushed with rage. "LOOK WHAT I FOUND!"

Along with some specks of blood were long, ginger cat hairs.

Ron screamed at Hermione, blaming her for the death of his pet rat. He ranted and raved on how she needed to keep a closer eye on her monster of a cat, especially as she had promised to make sure that "the mangey beast wouldn't kill my rat".

Later that night, Lily heard Hermione crying softly behind the closed curtains of her four-poster bed.

As the sun rose the morning after, Lily waited in the common room for Ron, a solemn, tired Hermione next to her. When Ron came downstairs, also looking worse for wear, the Weasley gave Hermione a filthy look before making to walk by without saying a word. Lily stood up and grabbed his arm.

"Ron, please, we need to talk," Lily said firmly. "Don't argue or walk away, I need you to listen. I know you're angry, but please, for friendship's sake, listen?"

"Ron… I… I'm so sorry. I know I've been busy, but… but that wasn't any excuse to not keep an eye on Crookshanks and keep him away from Scabbers. I just…" Hermione started, tears in her eyes.

Ron looked at her and sighed.

"Hermione, I've sat up all night. I'm angry with myself, more than anything. I know he was old, and I'm angry with that monster, but he is a cat, and cats… well, I'm trying not to blame you. I just… I just…" Ron struggled to say anything. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "To other he was just a rat, but he's been my pet for, like, 4 years now."

"I know it's not the same, but I'll get you a new pet. I mean, it's the least I can do," Hermione offered, sniffing sadly. "I know if I was you, I'd be angry and upset. I was a lousy friend."

"No, you're not," Ron snapped, but not angry this time. "It's okay. I mean, it's not, but we've been through too much to let this ruin what we have."

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry about Scabbers, I really am."

"I know. Let's just… remember him, and we can focus on other things. We still need to help Hagrid with Buckbeak, right?" Ron asked. "You've done most of the research, and it's about time I pull my weight. So I'm sorry about that…"

"Thanks Ron," Hermione said softly.

"What are friends for?" he asked. "Anyway, Lily, don't you need to train today?"

"Yeah, and so do you," Lily pointed out. "Oliver said you can join in training with the Nimbus I've been using."

"Alright, let's go," Ron said firmly, "before the Ravenclaws reserve the pitch.".

The fact that Lily had the Firebolt seemed to inspire the team. Wood had found it hard to keep his eyes off Lily but was observant enough to tell Ron to try out for Keeper the next year. He had flown well on the Nimbus and a position would be opening up for a new Keeper due to his graduating. Spurred by the confidence boost, Ron promised he would.

When the day of the Quidditch match arrived, everyone was aware of Lily owning a Firebolt and not so subtly tried to catch a glimpse of the broom as the Gryffindor Team had their breakfast. The best part for Lily was seeing Malfoy's face when he discovered that the broom wasn't just rumours.

On the pitch, with her wand in her Quidditch robes, Lily felt more ready than she had ever felt for a game. She encouraged her burst of confidence, settling into the feeling of how her team was going to win. The worried look from the Ravenclaws boosted her feelings.

As the match kicked off, the game rapidly became fast paced and fierce. Not long in the match Lily saw the snitch and she sped off after it at amazing speeds. The Firebolt left the Ravenclaw chaser, Cho Chang, in the dust but the older girl showed her skill at the game, weaving in and out of players with certainty, trying to cut in front of the fluttering snitch. As they neared the golden ball, Cho suddenly let out a cry of terror. Lily looked down, seeing three Dementor's on the pitch. She didn't even hesitate; Lily pulled out her wand, and cast her Patronus, sending the semi solid form down towards them.

Moments later, she cheered in triumph as she grabbed the snitch, holding it up. She did a lap of victory as Madam Hooch blew the whistle and landed next to a beaming Sirius.

"That was incredible, Lily!"

"It was incredible, Uncle Sirius. The Dementor's didn't even affect me!" Lily exclaimed.

"That's because they weren't dementors," Sirius told her, leading her to the side of the pitch. Lily laughed loudly, along with the rest of the Gryffindor team, as they watched Malfoy, Marcus Flint, Crabbe and Goyle looking ashen, knotted up amongst one another. They were struggling to detangle themselves from the long black robes they had worn as Minerva yelled at them, deducting 200 points for their dangerous prank. Even Professor Snape looked furious, assigning detention during the rest of the Quidditch games of the year.

The celebrations lasted late into the night before the overtired, satisfied Gryffindors finally began to go to bed. Lily had retired earlier and was talking to Hermione, Lavender and Parvati about the game when a loud scream filled the tower. Afraid, all four girls grabbed their wands but immediately left their dorms and ran down the stairs. It was already filling up with Gryffindors, a rapid crowd already swarming around a familiar red head.

"Ron, what's wrong?" Lily asked as she pushed her way towards him.

Fred and George came in through the portrait with what looked like bags of sweets and some kegs of butterbeer just at that moment.

"Are we continuing the party? Excellent," Fred said grinning.

"REMUS LUPIN! HE WAS HERE! OVER MY BED!" Ron shouted shrilly. He was shaking uncontrollably, and Percy came forward to guide him to a seat, demanding to the wide-eyed portraits to get McGonagall.

Worried murmurs broke out, Ron repeating "he was there, I saw him, looks just like the wanted posters, came out from under the bed" when someone tried to speak to him. Minutes later, everyone immediately looked around as Minerva and Sirius both entered the common room.

"What's going on here?" Minerva demanded. "I know we are all happy about winning the match but this is ridic-"

"REMUS LUPIN! HE WAS HERE!" Ron cried out, jumping to his feet.

"Mr. Weasley, that's impossible. How could he get in here?" Minerva asked. "Sit down, boy. You look like you're about to faint."

"Ask the Fat Lady! She'll tell you."

Minerva nodded, and everyone listened with bated breath at the exchange.

"Did you let a man enter the common room before us?"

"Yes, of course I did. He said he was an Auror from the ministry, and knew the password," the Fat Lady replied.

"He… knew the password?" Minerva repeated. Sirius came up behind Minerva and showed the Fat Lady a photograph.

"Was this the man?" Sirius asked, looking pale.

"That's him exactly, although he looked a little older," the Fat Lady replied. "He said he needed to inspect the dorms for a pest outbreak so I let him in-"

"How did he get the password?" Sirius interrupted, teeth grinding together.

Minerva turned to the Fat Lady. "That was Remus Lupin. If you see him again, alert one of the staff members immediately! He's a wanted criminal."

What felt like minutes later, all the students were relocated to the Great Hall to sleep under the watchful eyes of the staff and ghosts. Dumbledore, Snape, Minerva, Flitwick and Sirius began to search the ground.

Anxious, Lily hadn't been able to fall asleep, her mind going a million miles an hour. She did pretend to be sleeping when she became aware of Snape, Sirius and Dumbledore returning, talking softly amongst themselves.

"There's no sign of Lupin. Everywhere has been checked," Sirius said. Lily caught a glimpse of him tucking the Marauder's Map into his pocket through her eyelashes.

"I didn't expect him to linger," Dumbledore commented. "I think we can assume he has now left the grounds."

"How did he get past the Dementors?" Flitwick asked, shuddering.

"Remember, Fillius, he's gotten past them once before when we all thought that was impossible," Snape pointed out. "He must know something about them that we don't."

"That is entirely possible," Dumbledore agreed. He stroked his beard, blue eyes scanning the rows of sleeping students. "Whatever the reason, I have sent word to the ministry to request some Aurors to guard the entrances to the Castle. Hogwarts is supposed to be a safe place, and it has been breeched far too many times for my liking."

"Nobody let Lily from your sight," Sirius demanded. "I refuse to let Lupin finish what he started all those years ago. She's barely lived, yet, and if anything were to happen to her…"

"Miss Potter will be guarded closely, so long as she also followers the rules," Snape said. "Her and her posse of friends."

"They do have a way of getting themselves into situations, don't they?" Sirius agreed with a begrudging smile. "I'll talk to them in the morning."

"They are aware of his… condition?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Yes. Maybe it'll be worth putting a curfew in place on nights of the full moon?" Sirius suggested. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Goddamn it, Remus…"

"We are not in control of the choices other people make," Dumbledore began, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "All we can do is offer alternatives and let them know that the option to change the path they walk upon can always occur."

"Lupin will never return to the Light," Sirius said bitterly. "Maybe he never was to begin with…"

"Lily trusted him," Snape reminded him. "She had a good sense for people."

"I thought we all did. But we were right about you, Sna-"

"Enough," Dumbledore interrupted. "People can change. It's what makes us so interesting, and so unique. For now, let us secure the perimeters and -"

Lily wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but her dreams were full of evil, red eyes, sharp teeth, coarse fur and a sense of doom.

Note from the authors: So, you'll notice that there are some relatively major changes, such as no Sir Cadogan, no Neville getting the passwords stolen. The reason for this is that I think Remus Lupin wouldn't have had Crookshanks on his side, and he was always more patient than Sirius, so he would have waited for the right time, but not know that Lily is now in the girl's dorms.