Chapter Thirteen: Werewolf Lover

Severus stayed close to Lily for the rest of the day. Being a Thursday, it meant they had all lessons together apart from the first period, and he didn't leave her side even at break and lunchtime. Lily was grateful to him, and grateful to have a friend outside of The League, but it was nevertheless a complicated day; she could not help but notice that - despite acting as if they were attached by spellotape - Sev was still wary as to where they went and where they were seen. Not because he was hiding her from The League, but because he was trying to keep her hidden from his own muggle hating friends. Even Sev, it seemed, did not want to be seen publicly with her, and she was persona non grata all over the castle.

After tea, they stayed hidden in the library as long as they could - not really talking, just being together, studying quietly. Lily was aware that Sev was watching her closely, but did not want to ask why, though she could feel his eyes on her the whole time she did her Charms homework.

But eventually, the library closed and they could not avoid parting any longer. Severus walked her all the way back to Gryffindor Tower and saw her inside, but he could not follow her in and so she stepped through the portrait hole alone, rather afraid of what was waiting for her on the inside.

It turned out to be James. There was no sign of Petra and the others, and the rest of Gryffindor seemed determined to keep their backs to her and pretend like she wasn't there, but Potter bounded over to her, followed by his friends, and greeted her with a grin.

'How's your day been, Evans?'

She raised an eyebrow at him, 'Peachy.'

'Good.' (He seemed to miss the sarcasm totally.) 'Look - we -' he gestured to the others, 'just wanted to say well done for what you wrote in the magazine, we appreciate you taking the time to find out werewolves are not all bad.'

She felt her eyes fill with tears, but refused to let herself start blubbing in front of Potter of all people, so she attempted to look suspicious and asked, 'Why?'

Potter went red. His mouth gaped open and he started to babble. 'No reason,' he said, sounding quite strangled, 'it's just … they're not - you know - all bad - and we … well we like it when people tell the truth so … Not that we have any reason to care but…' he affected a laugh, which fooled no one. Lily was not only acting feeling suspicious now, her eyes narrowed.

'Why are you babbling?'

'He's just an idiot, Lily,' Remus said, calmly taking James by the elbow and starting to lead him away, 'don't worry about it.'

'Yes - ha ha! - I'm an idiot, that's it!' James craned his neck, peering back at Lily, as he was towed away by his friends - one on each elbow and Peter pushing from behind. 'Thanks for the letter though - we appreciate it!'

Lily had felt momentarily warmed by James seeking her out to tell her she had done the right thing, but now - left alone - she glanced up the staircase towards the girls dormitory and imagined going up there, by herself, to find Mary and Petra and Mandy, waiting for her in frosty silence. She fought down the urge to run after the boys and ask if she could sleep in with them tonight, just kip on the floor of their dorm.

But instead, she squared her shoulders, and marched into the breach.

…

The next few days passed quietly enough, though Lily was forced to keep her head down, lurk in the shadows and stay close to Sev - which frustrated her no end, but it seemed that there was no one in the castle (apart from - rather inexplicably - Potter and his gang) who didn't despise her and didn't actively wish her harm. She had always been used to standing up to the mini-knights, but that was when she felt like she had the backing of everyone else - even if they didn't do much to help. Now she could be hexed from any side and had to be extra wary.

On Monday morning, Professor Malidictus actually took time away from picking on Remus, during their Defence lesson, in order to fire increasingly impossible to answer questions at Lily - and then led the sneering of the rest of the class when she failed to answer them and got herself in a muddle.

On Tuesday, there was an article on the front page of The Prophet which once again made everyone read in total silence over breakfast.

Dark Marks Sighted Across Britain

As Death Follows in the Wake of the Mark, There is a New Word on Everyone's Lips

It was less than a year ago that the Dark Mark was first seen in our skies. A skull formed by glittering green stars, with a snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue, this grisly image was first seen hovering over the home of the popular "Rock and Roll" band "The Kneazles" while the bodies of the Fab Four were found lying slaughtered underneath.

In the months that have followed, it has been The Prophet's unhappy task to report on several further sightings of this mark, and the deaths which followed - most notably in Diagon Alley, during The Night of the Glass Shards, last summer, and the murder of Mable Grable and her infant son on Halloween night.

However, it seems that our Ministry has not been entirely honest with us about how frequently this mark is being fired into the sky, or the number of casualties our little world has suffered in the past few months. Although we could not fail to notice the muggle massacre in Nailsworth on Christmas Eve, it seems that our Ministry has been involved in something of a cover up around wizarding deaths.

With new evidence, shown to us by The Paper's own Dempster Wiggleswade (Grable's former beau and an employee in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement) and with the blessing of his Head of Department, Harold Minchum, we have discovered that our Aurors have been called out to no less than seven instances of the Dark Mark being seen in the sky since Christmas, and that - beneath every mark - they have found a witch, wizard or sometimes even an entire family lying dead.

'The Minister, herself, and her politicians, have been leaning on us,' says Endeavour Enderby (himself still grieving the loss of his wife and child to a werewolf attack just over a month ago). 'They don't want us to tell people what is going on, to admit the problem is as bad as it is. But wizards are dying - with alarming frequency - and all deaths are related, as they are all linked by the Mark. And it was not Bugnug, the goblin banged up in Azkaban, who killed these people. It was the Knights of Walpurgis.'

Prometheus Pimbleton, 72, of Selly Oak; Xavier and Erasmus Goldworthy - both 45 and living in Tinworth; Sally Jones, 46, in London; Hamish Mactavish, 60, of Gretna Green; Daffyd Davies, 27 of Newport; the Turlington family of Ironbridge and the Harris's of Windemere have all been killed by the Killing Curse and left beneath the Dark Mark since the turn of this new year. In the wake of so many tragic, and meaningless deaths, those within our community are starting to whisper a new name for those committing the crimes. The "Death Eaters" is now the name given to those masked menaces who kill, torture, maim and vandalise beneath the glowing green stars of the Dark Mark.

The Minister herself was not available to comment on the accusations that she had withheld information or covered up crimes, but - when asked if the "Death Eaters" and the Knights of Walpurgis were one and the same, Septimus Selwyn, 54, and the Deputy Grand High Wizard of the Knights has this to say: 'This is the most ludicrous, pernicious and dangerous accusation I have heard in a long time. The Knights of Walpurgis are a peaceful group who focus on the importance of tradition and maintaining the old ways. We have now been accused of causing the giants to riot, vandalising Diagon Alley and outright murder. People need to be careful what they say, for many of us hold positions on or have the ear of the Wizengamot and we are not afraid to prosecute any libels or slanders.'

When asked if there was any link between the "Dark" Lord and the "Dark" Mark, Mr. Selwyn became agitated and said 'mere coincidence and ridiculous conjecture, see above for my comments on slander.'

It seems we are not going to get any answers, either from the Ministry or the Knights, but - for now, at least - it appears that no wizard can consider himself safe in his home and that these dark days are only set to get darker.

…

Of course, Malidictus called a meeting for that night. Used to the ways of Big Bertha and her list, the boys donned their invisibility cloak and crept inside. Lily, however, who had always managed to pass through into the Hall unhindered, was now stopped at the door.

'But it's a League meeting - I'm a member of The League,' she protested.

'Malidictus himself told me to stop you from entering.' Bertha's tone was officious and she seemed to be enjoying her little display of power.

'I still stand against the Dark Lord, though! I still want to fight what the Knights - the "Death Eaters" - are doing.'

'But you broke rule six of our charter,' and she cleared her throat and began to read aloud: ' We stand against Dark Creatures - and any part or non-humans that the Dark Lord may recruit, and will treat any such creatures accordingly .' She pushed her glasses up her nose, in a little motion which seemed to declare "There you go".

'I only asked a few questions!' Lily cried.

'And, in doing so, you fell foul of rules four and five,' and again she began to read: ' We stand against anyone using dark magic or espousing dark views, and recognise that those who do either deserve punishment and We will not stand by if we come across these dark views in our daily lives . Your views are wrong and will not be tolerated here. I'm not letting you in - but if you don't go quietly I'm sure I can find some boys who will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower.'

And with that rather unpleasant threat ringing in her ears, Lily decided to give it up for a bad job and stumped her bad tempered and lonely way up to the owlery to spend her evening with Brunhilda.

…

Inside the meeting, hidden under their cloak, the boys watched the Hall fill up until, eventually, everyone had arrived and Malidcitus took his place on the dais. As he so often did, he brandished a copy of The Daily Prophet as he spoke. 'It is worse than we feared,' he told them. 'We thought we knew what was going on, only now it turns out that - far from listening to us - the Ministry is actively deceiving us, covering up the worst of the Dark Lord's crimes in order to prevent a national panic. But we have good reason to panic! There is a murderous death cult roaming our world, claiming their victims, and the only way we can protect ourselves, the only way we can stop them, is to know the truth! Therefore we must change tactics. No longer should we write to that cowardly and treacherous woman who calls herself "Minister for Magic". Instead we need to write to the editor of The Prophet, write to members of the Wizengamot, write to the Heads of Ministry Departments, petition Dumbledore, himself - as Chief Mugwump - and demand that they replace Eugenia Jenkins with someone who is up to the job.'

This pronouncement was met with cheers and rounds of applause and even the boys - who were no fans of Malidictus - could not fault him on wanting to get rid of Minister Jenkins, as they wanted to get rid of her too - and had done ever since she had accused Remus of the supposed werewolf killings in Hogsmeade, two years previously.

But Malidictus was far from done. 'The darkness is indeed rising outside of these walls,' he said. 'Our world is getting more dangerous by the day, however - inside Hogwarts - things are very different!'

(There was another round of cheering)

'Muggleborn attacks are down, the mini-Knights of Walpurgis, the Mini- "Death Eaters", to use the new language, are being forced to keep their heads down and their noses clean as we outnumber them four to one and never back down from a challenge!'

The cheers broke out again, everyone (except the boys) applauded thunderously and looked very pleased with themselves.

'Our efforts are proof that taking a hard line, and brooking no dissent, works . It is proof that the Ministry would be in error to ignore…' He took a deep breath and gazed around the room, his shrewd eyes narrowing. 'But there are now more enemies that we need to face. We have taken a brave stand against the supporters of the Dark Lord, we have pushed to the very margins the craven bystanders who will not join us…'

(the boys glanced at each other from beneath the cloak)

'But now a new enemy has arisen - one that is perhaps worse than we have faced before. Worse than those who oppose us, worse than those who simply stand back and do nothing - we must now defend against ourselves from the apostates. Those who were once with us and yet are with us no longer, who stood for our cause, until they changed their mind. Who once believed - as you believe - and has now lost their faith. Those who back out, who erode our numbers with their questions and break our ranks leaving us exposed to attack, are now one of the biggest threats we face. If you look around this Hall you will see we are missing one more person this evening. Lily Evans. Of Gryffindor.'

Some in the Hall began to hiss at the sound of Lily's name. Some eyes turned towards Petra, Mary and Mandy - as if sizing them up as dissenters as well. Petra and Mary tried to stare back, clear eyed and defiant, proving they were loyal to the cause, but Mandy - who was always the quietest and least outgoing of their group - stared at her shoes, shuffled awkwardly under the scrutiny, and wished the ground would swallow her whole. It seemed like the blood was ringing in her ears as Malidictus continued to talk.

'She has had her heart opened to darkness and so she steps away from our cause, and tries to spread dissent wherever she goes, tries to make you like her . Though, at least, Miss Evans is out in the open. We know her game and can protect ourselves from the danger she poses. But never forget that the one who first exposed Evans to her new and dangerous ideas is still somewhere in this Hall, still hidden among you. Somewhere - in this crowd before me - is the so called "Werewolf's Nephew" who wants us to sympathise with, to have compassion for, the dark monster which murdered Mrs. Enderby and her baby - who ripped them apart without fear or conscience. Somewhere, in this Hall, there is another apostate. A viper in our bosom, waiting to strike. Waiting to make you fall, as Miss Evans has fallen. We cannot know what is in the hearts and minds of others, not truly, and so - though we must put our trust in each other - we must also be aware that even our firmest friends can fail us. Be ever vigilant against the threat of apostasy, watch out for dark ideas forming in the minds of your friends, and help sway them back to the light - for now we know: our enemies are within .'

…

'Well, that was the most mental speech he's delivered yet,' Sirius said, rather gloomily, once they were safely back up in their dorm. 'It's not bad enough they hate everyone that's not signed up to their charter, he's telling them to turn on each other as well - he's a paranoid maniac.'

'And that about covers it,' Remus said.

James, however, was less bothered about Malidictus and was instead fretting about Lily, and the danger she must now surely be in after being singled out in the meeting like that. 'I know she's handy with her wand, but she can't see off the whole castle. I think we need to stick close to her, men - be there to protect her, if we have to.'

'Well, you'll enjoy that, but I'm not sure she will,' Peter sniggered.

James blushed bright crimson. 'I don't know what you're implying… just looking out for a girl in trouble…' he mumbled something about being a Gryffindor and not meaning anything else by it. Sirius threw his pillow at him.

'Shut up… we get it… we'll help look after her.'

They all lay back on their beds, staring upwards and lost in their own thoughts - none of which were particularly cheerful. Remus was feeling particularly bleak. Malidictus singling out the nephew of a werewolf had shaken him more than he liked to admit. If that was how their Defence Professor would treat someone simply for the crime of being related to a werewolf, he shuddered to think what Malidictus would do once he had enough evidence to expose Remus publicly. If things carried on the way they were going, Remus was sure he would find himself being chased out of the castle before very long at all. If he managed to escape in one piece, he would consider himself lucky.

After a while, when the silence threatened to overwhelm them, James reached out and switched on the wireless. They were just in time for the Twenty Two Minutes Past Eight News and it seemed like, at some point during the day, a reporter had finally managed to corner Minister for Magic, Eugenia Jenkins, as it was her voice - sounding increasingly strangled and desperate - which floated over the airwaves.

'I understand people are upset and worried.'

She was saying.

'But that is precisely why the Ministry made the decision not to publicise these deaths. We did not want to cause a mass panic when there is really no need for one. I can assure everyone that nothing has changed.'

The reporter pointed out that there had been seven more attacks and many more people were dead.

'Nothing has changed!'

Jenkins gabbled hysterically.

'We are in control of the situation. We caught the goblin, Bugnug, and we will catch the perpetrators of these crimes. But my Aurors must be allowed to work without pressure from the press, or the general public breathing down their necks. We can keep you safe, you are all safe. Nothing has changed.'

The reporter asked her how she intended to keep everyone safe. Jenkins gave a shrill, and very strained, laugh and then began talking about the weather. Attempts to bring the conversation back around to the killings resulted in only a ramble about the Quidditch scores and a suggestion that Ginger Newt biscuits were no longer as big as they had been back when Eugenia was a girl. The reporter seemed to give up in disgust.

'She's losing it,' Remus said.

Peter nodded. 'Big time.'

'She was never a very good Minister, she was never really up to this job. She needs to step aside - and I think even she knows that now.'

'She'll want to cling onto power just as long as she can though,' Sirius said, darkly. 'Just because she's incompetent, in way over her head, and people are dying is no reason for a politician to give up being top dog - if they can just cling on for another day more.'

The news finished, and a Dissimulators song started to play. 'I just feel totally rubbish all the time,' James said - sounding quite uncharacteristically glum. 'Taking Quidditch away from me, them vandalising our door and turning on Evans and now even more people dead than we realised and the Knights - I mean "Death Eaters" getting away with it. I just want it all to go away, you know?'

'There is -' Remus hesitated for a moment, 'there is something we can do. Not to fix anything or anything, but just to feel better for a little while.'

'What?' The others all sat up on their beds and stared at him, eagerly.

'Well … do you remember that time Pete cast two charms on me at once?' he asked. They all nodded. 'It was a cheering and a calming charm and … it really was quite nice, you know? Everything seemed much better and nothing really mattered and my toes tingled quite nicely…' He tried to make it sound like he had only experienced it once, that accidental time Peter had done it to him. 'It's perfectly safe, I think… if you just wanted a bit of cheering up.'

Sirius had narrowed his eyes. 'You went all weird,' he said. 'Loopy - and you started cackling.'

'But it felt marvellous.'

'We've got our mandrake leaves in, what if we swallow them?'

'You won't.'

'I'm up for giving it a go,' James said. 'If it shifts this weight off my chest for just a minute. Peter?'

Pete looked nervous. But, as James seemed determined to try it, he nodded his head in agreement. Sirius looked less convinced and folded his arms.

'Let's see it, then,' he said.

Remus showed James and then Peter how to cast the charms on themselves. One by one, they went glassy eyed, fell back onto their beds and began to chuckle softly to themselves. He turned to look at Sirius, 'Well?'

Sirius stared at him shrewdly for a long moment and then shrugged, 'Alright, I'll give it a try - though I better not swallow my mandrake leaf,' and cast his charms - the look of utter peace and bliss travelled across his face, replacing any fear that his plans to become an animagus might fail again , as they took effect.

Last of all, and with no small amount of relief, Remus cast the charms on himself. The now familiar wave of contentment, the wonderful feeling of free floating in time and space, and the pleasant tingle in his nose and toes passed over him and he lay down, his head on his pillow, a smile stretched wide across his face and drifted away, as the Dissimulators played on in the background.

…

The come down was as harsh as ever. Not that there were ever any physical ill effects, but that slow seeping in of reality, where once there had been serenity and painlessness, was always hard. Everything always seemed colder, harder and more brittle when he woke up.

And reality did seem to be going out of its way to be unusually harsh that Wednesday morning, as they overheard - during breakfast - that the girls' dorm had been broken into and all of Lily's things had been ransacked.

'Her books have been torn apart, her homework ripped up, her clothes slashed,' they heard Sandra Lewis of Ravenclaw telling Connie Bidwell of Hufflepuff.

Connie frowned. 'I suppose it serves her right, if she's going to side with the werewolves. I would never have thought this of Lily…' she shook her head sadly.

'It must have been a Gryffindor,' Sandy said, 'to have got past the Fat Lady. Mandy says she's a bit worried about it. The idea of someone creeping into her dorm - even if only to get at Evans's stuff.'

'Perhaps she should be more worried about sharing a dorm with someone who supports werewolves.' She broke off with a yelp, when a ball of scrunched up parchment (thrown by Sirius) hit her on the head. She turned to look at where the boys were eavesdropping shamelessly and shook her head in disgust. 'Bystanders.'

The girls walked away and the boys put their heads together, having a furious discussion over their morning porridge. 'I told you she was in danger,' James said. 'We need to keep an eye out for her.'

'Poor thing,' Remus shook his head. 'It must be horrible having someone come into your room - your space - and destroy your stuff. She mustn't feel very safe right now.'

'She isn't safe! But she's got us.'

'It's Defence first thing,' Peter said, 'Malidictus will be foul.'

'Moony can try and draw as much of his ire as possible, and we'll keep our wands on the rest. History of Magic… well, everyone will be asleep anyway. And then she'll be in prep while we have Care of Magical Creatures - Moony, it's up to you to look out for her again. Then Charms…'

'Ironically that's where she'll be safest,' Sirius said, 'as we're with the Slytherins and none of them are League.'

'Plus she'll be with Snape,' Peter pointed out. James frowned at him.

'And then Herbology,' James continued. 'That could get hairy, we'll have to try and work in a group with her. She's all alone - a muggleborn with The League against her, she's counting on us to be there for her!'

And so they set out for the day with the aim of sticking as close to Lily as possible and keeping her safe (and thus drawing many curious and irritated glances from the girl herself). But James would not be deterred by Lily's tutting, and plonked himself down next to her in every class they had.

Once it was time for prep, and the others were out on the lawn studying porlocks with Professor Kettleburn, Remus slid into the seat next to Lily and countered her annoyed glance with a calm smile. 'You alright?' he asked her, as if it was a matter of no consequence.

'I know what you're doing,' she told him. 'All of you.'

'Oh?'

'I'm not some fragile, little doll that's about to break.'

'We know that.'

'And I can take care of myself.'

'We know that as well - we just don't want you to have to be alone, it's not fair.'

'Oh…' she looked mollified, almost touched, for a moment. 'It's alright though - I'm not alone. I'll always have Sev.'

'Mmhmmm,' Remus replied, noncommittally.

Lily rooted in her bag and took out her Potions textbook. Remus saw that some of the pages stuck out of the binding awkwardly, and that it had clearly been spellotaped back together. He also saw that it had had the rather ugly words:

Werewolf Lover

Scrawled across the front cover in red ink.

He was pretty sure his expression didn't flicker, though he felt an unpleasant lurch in his stomach all the same. Lily saw him looking - and was suddenly reminded of what Sev had used to say about him, years ago, about the reason behind his mysterious disappearances - before it turned out that Mrs. Lupin was dying and Remus had been going home to visit her…

She blushed at the memory, and tried to cover up what felt to her like a very long moment of awkwardness. 'Whoever it was thinks they're very clever,' she said, trying to keep her voice light. 'I suppose Potter was right about The League all along.' Her embarrassed expression suddenly changed to one of horror. 'He must never know I said that! ' she hissed rather fiercely.

Remus chuckled. 'Your secret dies with me,' he whispered in her ear.

…

For all of James' plans to stay by Lily's side and protect her from her erstwhile friends, he was - unfortunately for him - continually scuppered by the fact that Severus had also decided to stick close to Lily, and the greasy haired git always seemed to get to her first. (Though James was adamant that this was no skin off his nose - and he only wanted Evans protected, it didn't matter at all to him who did the protecting, even if they were a right foul git.)

With Petra and the others giving her the cold shoulder, and everyone else from The League ready to hex her at a moment's notice, Lily stayed closer and closer to Snape over the coming weeks and felt grateful for the familiar friendship he offered. But this was still the beginning of a lonely time for Lily. She spent a lot of time hidden away in her dorm, as it felt safer in there than out where any number of hostile wands might fire at her; though the atmosphere when the other girls came to bed was positively frigid, and so Lily stayed behind her bed curtains - walled in by red velvet - using Arithmancy to work out the future football scores for her dad. Other times she would lurk in the owlery and talk to Brunhilde, but - although it was always comforting to have some living creature around who did not automatically flinch at the sight of her - there was always risk involved in being a space other students might visit.

Time spent with Sev felt like it should be a balm to her soul. He was her oldest friend and was proving that he would stand beside her no matter what. Although she could not imagine he had any high opinion on werewolves himself, he did not berate her for writing her letter nor did they discuss why she had joined The League in the first place. They would find themselves a cosy nook in the library, and study and talk - and it was almost like it had been before all the darkness had started, before they had even come to Hogwarts and it was just the two of them. He showed her some spells he had created himself (she was very impressed that he knew how to do that); they had a lot of fun with a little hex which caused someone's toenails to grow at incredible speed and found a lot of use for "Muffliato" which caused the ears of anyone nearby to be filled with an unidentifiable buzzing sound, and which meant the two of them could talk in private - about anything at all - without being overheard.

This was more time they had spent together in years, and they laughed more together than Lily could remember, as they caused various members of The League's toenails to grow so fast they exploded out of their shoes. Sev looked happier in her company than he had seemed for a long time, and he basked in her admiration over his spellcraft.

But, underneath it all, there was always something that wasn't quite right. Deep down, Lily knew they were both avoiding the erumpment in the room. The League might be mutating into something it was never supposed to be, but that was not why Sev had never joined them. Buried in her heart, though she did not want to examine it, or admit to its presence, was the secret knowledge that Sev had not joined The League because he opposed its central precept. The League stood against the Dark Lord. Severus did not.

She could not believe he truly hated muggleborns - he was her oldest friend, and had told her many times she belonged at Hogwarts. Whatever the Dark Lord said about muggleborns, Lily was sure Severus did not really believe it. But he lived in so much fear of his father, hated him so much, that she thought that - even if he didn't really believe the rhetoric of the Knights of Walpurgis (or "Death Eaters", as people were now calling them) he wanted to believe them. There was a war raging outside the walls of the castle, and Lily and Sev were on opposite sides - even if they did not acknowledge it openly. It was only that they were both now targets of The League that was allowing this truce to take place. And comforting as it was, as grateful to Sev as she felt, Lily knew this truce could not last forever - even if she wasn't ready to admit it yet.

It was a relief, when enough weeks had passed and it was time for Lily to return to Cokeworth for the Easter holidays. She had never felt so alone at Hogwarts, never dreaded waking up so much as she had done in the past term - not even in those dark days after The Kneazles had first died. Once she had escaped the privations and dull mundanity of home by running headlong into magic and wonder, now she escaped the worries and struggles of the Wizarding World by hiding away in the safety of the oblivious muggle world.

Things were even better at home than they had been at Christmas. The money was making even more of a difference - they now had a brand new washing machine squashed into their little kitchen, and the tub and dolly had been unceremoniously thrown out. When Tuney wasn't busy studying for her upcoming O Levels (which she was, almost continually) she would stand in the kitchen and watch in proud fascination as the clothes swooshed around in the soapy water. None of her friends had a washing machine at their house, and it was even better than the typewriter as a means of showing off to them.

The weather was bright and cheerful, if a little blustery, and the people on her street were no longer talking of three day weeks, or the imminent closure of the factory, but were happily arguing about which way they should vote in the upcoming referendum on the European Economic Community.

Cokeworth felt safe, and familiar, and - for the first time ever - Lily felt like she did not want the holidays to end. She wanted to stay at home.

…

The boys had opted to stay at Hogwarts for Easter. They had their mandrake leaves to think about; they would need to remove them at the March full moon, and then store them away where they could not be disturbed until the next thunderstorm. Therefore they could not take their leaves out at home. They were hoping there would be plenty of thunderstorms as the weather got hotter, in the summer months, and they should be animagi in time for the summer hols - so they needed their animagus potion somewhere they could access it. They had no intention of being away from it when the next storm hit, as had happened at Christmas.

'We've had enough failures, already,' Sirius had told them sternly. 'This time we get it right or die trying.'

The full moon was on the Thursday. The three boys took out their leaves (with no small amount of relief) put them into their crystal phials along with the dew drops, moth chrysalises, and a hair from their heads and then locked their potions into the cupboard beneath James' bedside table. Remus - of course - was nowhere to be found, as he was howling away in the Shrieking Shack.

'It's a bit early for storms,' Sirius said, 'but with any luck we should have had one by the June full moon. Hopefully even earlier than that. Now - Pete - do you remember the incantation?'

Peter insisted that he did, and the three of them had an early night, ready to rise in the morning with the sun and perform their chant, before going to visit Moony in the hospital wing.

Sunday was Easter, and they all received large eggs filled with toffees from Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Pettigrew and Mr. Lupin and enjoyed a lazy day lying by the fire and eating as much chocolate as they could stand.

And then they had a whole week, before the rest of the school came back, with nothing much to do - and so James insisted that they go back to the library and redouble their efforts on discovering how to open the hump in the one eyed witch's statue. 'A secret passage is no good to anyone if it's so bloody secret you can't get in it,' he told them. 'The answer has to be in the library - so find it!'

Sirius gave him a rather mocking salute, but they all hopped to it and started pulling books off shelves and rifling through pages looking for anything that might help them break through solid stone.

Remus eventually found an answer in "Hogwarts, a History" ('well, why didn't you think to look in there first of all, you idiot?' Asked James - goggling at him, as if he too had not been trying and failing to find an answer for over a month).

The Founders built Hogwarts as an almost living entity, a rabbit warren of passages and hallways that would shift as needed, so that all which needed to be kept hidden could be protected by the incomprehensibility of the castle itself. Although they delighted in creating cunning passwords and secret signals to open up the concealed parts of the school, so that only those who had proven themselves worthy by discovering them could access them, they also needed a failsafe; a word which could be used no matter the location.

After all, Hogwarts was designed as a castle which could weather a siege. It was deemed likely - perhaps almost certain - that one day the inhabitants would find themselves trapped inside, a hostile army without, and any member of the school may need a secret way to sneak unnoticed past the enemy hordes.

Therefore, any secret passageway, which is guarded by stone - rather than sentience - can be opened up by tapping a wand against the masonry and speaking the word "Dissendium."

'It's not the real password,' Remus said, 'but it should do the trick. It's sort of a skeleton key - but a password.'

'What does it mean "guarded by stone not sentience"?' Peter asked.

'It means that anything where the entry way is barred by a wall or a statue, you can use "Dissendium" to open it up. It wouldn't work on the Fat Lady - she's sentient. But it will work on the witch's hump.'

' And it would work on the Slytherin common room,' James said, his eyes lighting up. 'That's only guarded by a wall.'

'And Dumbledore's office,' Sirius added. 'They're only gargoyles.'

'And the prefect's bathroom,' James said. 'I always wanted to go in there.'

'So it's a pretty effective password to know,' Remus concluded. He looked around at his friends. 'Are we going to try it then?'

They hurried off to the statue of the one eyed witch, tapped her wand, said "Dissendium" and - to their delight - the statue creaked open and they tumbled into the passageway beneath it. They followed it all the way to Honeydukes where they bought all the sweets and chocolates they could carry and then staggered beneath the weight of it back up the tunnel and back to the common room. They had still not eaten through the mountain of confectionery by the end of the week.

…

As the holidays drew to a close, Lily felt her chest tightening in a way that wouldn't resolve. She was quiet and close to tears, a wand's width away from begging her parents to let her stay home while also trying desperately not to let them see anything was wrong. When forced cheeriness got too much for her, she would leave the house and wander the streets of Cokeworth, walk down by the railway lines where no one ever went, or sit on the swings in the park - her toes dragging forlornly across the woodchip.

On the very last day, she had taken herself to Cokeworth's one greasy cafe and was sitting near the grimy window, at the formica table, with a cup of tepid tea and a copy of the Daily Mail spread out in front of her (it had been left in the cafe by a previous customer). She was reading the paper carefully, her chest tightening with every passing minute, looking for any story which the muggles might not understand the significance of but which nevertheless signified the wizarding war encroaching on their world: disappearances, strange deaths, freak weather incidents that left destruction in their wake.

Her eye caught something which made her heart flutter in time to the flickering of the fluorescent light.

Betty Bayliss, 62 - No Cause of Death

Pensioner Betty Bayliss was found dead in her Norfolk home, last Tuesday. Although she had been thought to be in good health, it was assumed her cause of death had been a massive coronary episode. 'It was an awful shock to find her there,' her daughter, Hetty Bayliss, 38, tells the Mail, 'her eyes wide open. She looked surprised, but otherwise healthy - except she was dead. My grandfather died of a sudden heart attack and, at first, I thought the same thing must have happened to mum.'

Ms. Bayliss takes out a handkerchief and dabs at her eyes as she recalls what the coroner told her. 'Only - when they came to do the post mortem, they found there was nothing wrong with her. Her heart was healthy - all her vital organs were - they had just come to a stop. Like a watch which had wound down. They could not come up with a reason for why she was dead - she just is…' And with that Ms. Bayliss dissolved into noisy tears and was unable to speak with us further.

But it seems Betty is not the only person who has died recently with no apparent cause of death. Over in Wiltshire, Herbet Hufty, 75…

Lily stopped reading. This was why she could not ask her parents to keep her at home, why she had to go back. Because poor Betty Bayliss had been murdered by a wizard, she was sure of it. The description of her death fitted so perfectly with the Killing Curse. Muggles were dying, and they did not know why, and if Lily stayed here, in Cokeworth, hiding away from the mess back at school, then more muggles would die. She had to go back so she could fight, if only to keep Cokeworth safe from something like this happening here.

But this knowledge did not do anything to ease the tightness in her chest. She sat there, perfectly still, staring unseeingly at the paper and wishing more than anything that all of this would go away.

And then a new song started playing on the radio, and she looked up in wonder. The first few bars of The Kneazles' song "I'm glad I'm Muggleborn", the song Bobby Darrow had dedicated to Lily, herself, just before he died, floated out across the cafe. She started to smile, not daring to believe - because this song could not be playing here, did not belong here and yet here it was - and it must be a message from Bobby, telling her to keep fighting.

Oh yeah, I'll tell you something

I think you'll understand,

When I say that something…

The smile slid from her face, her heart plummeted in her chest and her eyes filled with tears as Paul McCartney's voice began to sing.

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand.

Her face crumpled and she began to sob in earnest. How silly she had been to think a Kneazles song could possibly play here, that Bobby would send her a message. If he had seen what she had done - how she had got so caught up in The League and started persecuting anyone who thought differently than her… she cried all the harder. Bobby would be so disappointed in her.

The bored looking waitress, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, was giving her funny looks. But she didn't care. She sat and she cried and cried, until the song finished, and several more songs had played. She cried until she could not cry anymore. And then, wiping her eyes and nose on her sleeve, she pushed the now freezing cup of tea away from herself, stood up and walked out - feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders.

…

But when she got home, Brunhilde (who had disappeared mysteriously a couple of days beforehand) was fluttering around her room - and a letter had been dropped on her pillow. It was from Mandy, she could tell because the "i" in "Lily" had been dotted with a love heart. She opened it up, not sure what she would find:

Dear Lily,

She read

The others don't know I'm writing to you - they wouldn't talk to me if they knew. But I'm worried. I don't like the way The League is treating you, I don't like some of the things Malidictus is saying; about you and about the bystanders… I don't know what to think about werewolves, everyone says they are dark and evil, and one killed that poor baby. But I'm starting to think you might be right to ask questions. Asking questions should never be against the rules.

I'm sorry I haven't had the courage to stand by you so far, but I will when we go back - I promise. Together we can start to put things right.

See you tomorrow,

Love and kisses, Mandy xxx

Lily finished reading, and suddenly the day seemed sunnier. The tightness in her chest eased slightly and she wondered if maybe Bobby Darrow had been sending her a message, after all.