Lily's Defender, Part 2
Alethea27 and TheOneandOnlyEnigma
Disclaimer: The plot is ours, but the majority of the main characters belong to the imagination of J.K. Rowling. We do not gain any profit from writing this story.
Summary: With the Grimoire in safe hands and James Potter expelled, Severus Snape, Lily Evans, and their friends expected that their remaining time at Hogwarts would be smooth sailing. Unfortunately, the intentions of a few detestable individuals will make their lives more arduous. With the help of a few new friends, they all must join together to fight against the rising tide of evil in the Wizarding World.
A/N: This story is A/U and is NOT canon compliant. If you don't like Sev/Lily fiction, don't read it.
We Have Our Ways
The repairs to Grimmauld Place were finished a day ago. A new cherry wood door, courtesy of Marcus Yalarad. Walburga found this to be a blessing in disguise to be quite honest. She had always wanted to redesign the front of Grimmauld Place. The stone masonry that was blown away was replaced with a quarried grey stone imported straight from Italy.
Leonora, Marcus' wife and close friend of Walburga had come over to help oversee the work. At the end of it, the two friends were lounging in the living room, having a chat about certain things
Leonora leaned in to talk to Walburga, "So it's true? Samuel actually came over here and blew your door apart?"
Walburga sipped on her tea before giving her friend an answer, "I'm afraid it is Nora."
"I must apologize on behalf of him, and our family. It's strange though, he was never the one to go off like that at all. Unlike Dante," Nora sighed as she mentioned her stepson.
"This has all become quite a mess," Walburga admitted. "I just hope that it won't further devolve into chaos at Hogwarts."
"I'm sure that Gabriel will be able to keep his eye on things," Nora looked at Walburga. "You know he's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, right?"
Walburga was quiet for a few seconds before answering her friend. "Yes, I am aware. I know he'll do well in that position."
"But?"
Walburga frowned, Leonora could read her like a book. "I'm afraid that Sirius and Regulus will not listen to him and only cause more trouble for everyone down the line."
"Well, just sit them down and tell them the truth between you and Gabriel."
Walburga's eyes widened. "Absolutely not!"
"Okay, not everything, but the important things. How you were friends, and how they had better behave themselves, and act accordingly as members of your Ancient and Noble house, yadda yadda."
"You really have everything whittled down to the bone, don't you Nora?" Walburga asked her friend bluntly.
"Hey, I know how you like it when I just get to the point."
Walburga sighed, "I suppose you are right, but I'll have to have this talk when Orion isn't here. I'm afraid to have him butt in and put his two cents on the situation."
Leonora looked around, "He's not here now."
Walburga noticed that as well. "No time like the present." She excused herself and made her way upstairs to speak with her sons.
Walburga walked towards Sirius' room as she figured both her sons would be in there. After Sirius' suspension his second year, he had reconciled with his younger brother and grew even closer.
As she approached Sirius' room he heard him talking with Regulus.
"...But that's not going to work, if the balloon is enchanted how are you going to make it pop without the use of magic?" Regulus asked his brother.
Sirius answered him, "Ah! Very studious of you little brother! Have no fear, that's where the modified spitballs come into play!"
Walburga didn't like the sound of that very much. She knocked on the door, "Sirius? Regulus? Are you in there?" She heard a mad rush of papers flying and being stuffed into something. "Yes mother, we're in here!" Regulus called out.
"May I come in?" She asked them through the door.
A hurried whispering between the brothers arose before Sirius answered her. "Come one in Mum!"
Walburga came inside to see Sirius sitting on his bed, whilst Regulus was sitting at Sirius' desk. There was a rotating chalkboard in the corner of Sirius' room next to his closet. There was an ongoing game of tic tac toe on it.
She took notice of the posters on Sirius' walls. Although she didn't approve of these pictures of motorcycles and cars on the walls, it made her son happy, so she was fine with it. "I wanted to talk with you both about something if you don't mind."
"Of course Mum," Sirius smirked and sat up.
"It has to do with what happened a few nights ago," Walburga stated.
Sirius visibly soured, but Regulus' demeanor remained neutral.
"Gabriel Schell has been a stalwart and trusted friend of mine since childhood, and I want you both to give him a fair chance this year."
Sirius looked taken aback, "After he told Yalarad lies about Dad?!"
"Sirius!" Walburga pinched the bridges of her eyes and sighed. "There is much you don't know about this situation, and not enough time to unravel it. Please, trust me when I say that you can trust him."
Sirius crossed his arms in a tiff, and looked at the duvet on his bed. Regulus addressed his mother. "Was he a great auror as I've heard Moody and Scrimgeour say he was?"
That line of inquiry piqued Sirius' intrigue and he looked up to hear what his mother would say.
"Yes. He was very talented as an auror. I dare say, in his prime he was just as good as your father, even as good as Silas I would dare say."
Sirius was surprised, there was no way Schell was as good as his father.
"He was also a good friend of mine, best friends alongside of Eileen Prince and Silas Yalarad." Walburga looked at both of her sons. "So, please. I am asking you two, give him the respect that you would give any of your teachers. I'm not going to force you to establish a relationship with him, but should the opportunity arise, give him a chance."
Sirius sighed as he leaned back into his pillows. "I'll treat him with the respect I would show any of my professors, but if he keeps up with those lies about Dad I don't want anything to do with him."
"I agree with Sirius, Mother. I will address him with respect, but I am not certain I could trust him completely after what happened."
Walburga relented, so long as they would treat Gabriel with respect, and not give him a hard time, she would call that a win. "Thank you."
She began walking over to the door, but looked over to the chalkboard and swiveled it around. Sirius tried to get up to stop her, but he was too late.
There were plans of some sort of prank involving muggle balloons, spitballs with pointed sticks, and the scent of dungbomb odors. She looked back at Sirius with a glare. "I trust that you are only drawing up pranks just for fun, right Sirius?"
"Of course Mum! Just for fun!" Sirius panicked.
She looked at the board again, and saw a crude drawing of those miscreants Dante Yalarad and Cassidy Doherty. Walburga looked at the schematics again, "In theory…" She summoned a piece of chalk.
Sirius and Regulus looked at their mother.
"You could remove the necessity of muggle balloons entirely by the use of a bubble charm, and cast a simple Finite to free the dungbomb stenches." She made a few drawings, and wrote down the incantation for the bubble charm.
Sirius was gobsmacked, "Mum!" He got up from his bed and looked at his mother's alterations of his prank. "That's aces!"
Regulus looked warily at his mother, "Wait, how would you…"
"I've seen something familiar like this in my youth." She looked at her sons again, "This is just for fun...right? I'd better not hear from the Headmaster how you've been misbehaving again!"
"Right! Of course Mum!" Sirius reassured her.
"Good, thank you for your time boys. Dinner should be ready in an hour or so." She smiled before closing the door.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Lily was up early on the morning of September 1st, even before her parents awakened. She was dressed in jeans, a lightweight knitted top, and sandals. She was adding some final things to her trunk and paused as she looked at her old friend, Belinda, sitting on her bed. She didn't really need to take her to school anymore, to protect her from Tuney, but she was a reminder of home. Lily lifted her and laid her carefully on top of the clothing in her trunk.
There was a knock on her door and Cinthy called, "Lily, are you awake?"
"I'm up, Mum," Lily answered.
"Good. I'm starting breakfast right now."
"Okay, I'll be right down to help you," Lily called back.
Because it was Lily's last day at home until the holidays, Cinthy had decided to make Lily's favorite, her thin, crispy pancakes with fresh blueberries and served with syrup and whipped cream. Paul helped her by frying the bacon. After he finished with that, he got the orange juice out of the refrigerator and set it on the table. Cinthy had also made her iced cinnamon rolls with crushed walnuts on the top.
Lily came downstairs and set the table. Cinthy put a plate stacked with the pancakes on the table and Paul brought over the bacon. He poured them each a glass of orange juice while Cinthy brought the teapot.
"I made those cinnamon rolls you like so well, too, Lily," Cinthy said.
"Mum, even the elves don't cook as well as you," Lily declared.
Paul smiled. He had heard Lily and Sev talking about the elves many times before and was really curious about them. "Is there any chance you could take a picture of one of the elves? I would really like to see what they look like."
"I don't know, Dad, they're really shy, but there is Clive who's assigned to Slytherin House and who Sev knows really well. He's a cousin to the Princes' elves, Arlo and Mitzi. I might be able to take a picture of him."
They finished breakfast and Lily went back upstairs to brush her teeth and added her tooth brush and toothpaste to her trunk. She glanced around her room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything then shut her trunk and locked it. She didn't know if Mary would be back this year after failing every subject again last year, but she planned to cast the Snoop's Retribution Charm* on her trunk no matter what, but especially with Dante being back.
Paul got Lily's trunk downstairs while Lily carried Guinevere then she and her dad each took hold of a handle and loaded her trunk into the boot of their car. Lily put her owl in the backseat then climbed in next to her. Cinthy locked the front door and picked up the picnic basket she carried. The ride to London didn't take long as traffic was light that morning and they arrived at King's Cross Station with time to spare. Lily jumped out of the car and found a trolley which she wheeled over to their car where her dad lifted her trunk out of the boot and placed it on the trolley. Cinthy set the picnic basket she had brought along on top of Lily's trunk next to Guinevere's cage. "Some treats I baked for the journey to Hogwarts," she explained. "You can share them with your friend."
"Thanks, Mum!" Lily said smiling and squeezed her mother's hand.
They made their way through the station and loitered in the area between Platforms 9 and 10 waiting for it to completely clear and then they went through the barrier.
The Hogwarts Express was already there, smoke coming out of its stack. The red on the front part of the train gleamed brightly and Lily wondered if it got a new coat of paint every summer.
"I'm so glad the school made it possible for non-magical people to be able to see their children off," Cinthy said.
Paul nodded, looking around. "It's just amazing that the magical community has been living side-by-side with us, probably for centuries, and if Lily hadn't been magical, we'd never have known about it."
Vesper with Black Conor aside of her, Marius with Black Leif walking slightly behind him, and Severus with Black Donal suddenly appeared out of the floo. They spotted the Evans family, waved to them, and walked towards them. On their way over a man bumped into Marius and without bothering to excuse himself, hurried away.
"Excuse you!" Vesper called after the man.
"Sod off," he called back.
Marius was going to give his two cents, but the man hurried into the floo, and spirited away.
They brushed that off, made their way to the Evans, and talked for a few moments about the vandalism done to Marius' office.
"There's no sign of whoever did it?" Paul asked.
Marius shook his head. "No, they didn't use their wand to do it."
"That is such a terrible thing to do to somebody. They must be very angry whomever it is," Cinthy said.
"Yes, and what's worse is that whomever vandalized Marius's office absconded with his Order of Merlin medal that he had placed upon the wall."
Paul and Cinthy were shocked. "That's horrible," Cinthy exclaimed.
"It is that indeed," Marius sighed.
Lily looked at her watch then took Severus' hand. "Let's get on the train so we can find a good compartment."
Severus nodded and followed Lily. They stopped first at the baggage compartment where the baggage man, with help from Black Donal, got their trunks loaded and Guinevere put in a safe place. "Don't worry, Miss, your owl will be perfectly safe here," he assured Lily.
"Her name is Guinevere and thank you."
Severus and Lily staked out their compartment that was next to the compartment where the Head Boy and Girl plus the Prefects stayed during the train ride. Severus slid their trunks under the seat and Lily set the picnic basket containing the treats on the seat. Severus set Grey's carrier down and let him out of it. Grey jumped up and stretched out in the window, purring loudly.
"Donal, please don't allow anyone to come into this compartment unless they're friends of ours," Severus requested.
"As you wish, Master Snape," Black Donal replied. He stood outside the door with his arms crossed.
Lily and Sev went over to the window and lowered it down so they could talk to Sev's grandparents and Lily's parents.
"Now remember, Lily, if this Dante person starts bothering you in any way, let us know right away and we'll come to Hogwarts and raise such a stink that the headmaster will be lucky to get the smell out his office by Christmas!" Paul said.
"I will, Dad, I promise," Lily replied.
"The same goes for your grandmother and I, Severus," Marius said nodding vigorously. "The headmaster will wish he never heard the name Prince!"
"I will...no hiding it this time," Severus promised. He spotted Remus, Frank, Caddaric and Pete coming towards the train and waved then called, "Hey guys! Lily and I grabbed the compartment right next to the Head Boy's and Girl's."
"Great!" Frank replied. Black Donal slid open the door and allowed them into the compartment.
Their parents joined the Princes and the Evans in front of the window.
Dorian and Tav were next. They caught sight of the Evans and the Princes talking to Sev and Lily. "This way," Dorian urged Tav, looking around for Dante or Cassidy.
Alice and Irene came next then Emily and Jane. About five minutes before eleven, Walburga, followed by Sirius and Reg appeared. Sirius was being scolded by his mother for dawdling and almost making them late.
They got on the train and the conductor went along making sure all the doors were locked then waved to the engineer once he was done as he got on the train again. The train whistle sounded loudly. Everybody leaned out the windows, calling goodbye to their parents.
"Have a good year, Lily!" Both her parents called.
"Be on your best behavior, Sirius, Regulus. I don't want any owls this year!" Walburga warned. "I will see you at the holidays."
The train pulled slowly out of the station. Everybody's parents were still on the platform as the train slowly made its way past them. As the caboose of the train made its way out of the station, Marius found himself staring eye to eye with Dante Yalarad. Dante was smoking a cigarette outside the caboose as he sized Marius Prince up. Like a heavyweight boxer sizing up his opponent.
Apart from the Evans, everyone knew who the young man with the stone cold demeanor was. Marius returned Dante's stare with one of his own, giving no ground whatsoever.
Rather than look intimidated, Dante looked amused and gave him a smile, as if to mock him. He rubbed the cigarette under the railing of the caboose's ledge and flicked the butt of the cigarette onto the train tracks.
He blew out the smoke towards Marius and the rest of the parents, and patted the left side of his chest as if to indicate something before he went back inside the Hogwarts Express.
"The little gobshite is very arrogant," Black Leif observed. "Hopefully that arrogance will be his downfall."
"And let us hope that it comes sooner rather than later," Marius mused.
Paul walked over to Marius, "Was that this 'Dante' character I've heard so much about?"
"It was, Paul," Marius confirmed.
"He seems quite full of himself."
"That's one way of putting it," Augusta Longbottom strode over to the two men. "He's always been a bad seed. I expect to see that one in a cell sometime in his future."
"I don't understand how Dumbledore could let that miscreant back into Hogwarts," Walburga said.
"Dumbledore has always had a soft spot for his lions," Black Leif mentioned.
Vesper was thinking aloud, "Did anyone catch that gesture Dante made? The tapping on his chest? What did that mean?"
Marius scratched the back of his head, "I'm not sure." Marius tapped his chest to mimic Dante. "Perhaps it was some…"
Marius looked down and noticed a piece of parchment in his breast pocket. "What the…" he pulled it out, and unfurled it to read its contents.
Everybody gathered around Marius to catch a glimpse of what he was reading
"Marius, what does it say?" Vesper asked.
Marius wordlessly handed the missive to his wife. Vesper read the note. Everyone else read the note along with her, and a sense of dread filled their hearts.
'The Black Cloak won't help. We have our ways.'
The parchment quickly shriveled up and burst into a small ball of flames after Vesper read it. Leaving no trace as to its existence in the first place. "How did he manage to get this into your pocket? He was nowhere near us!" Vesper looked to her husband.
"It must have been when that man bumped into me at the gate," Marius theorized. "It appears as if Dante has a few co-conspirators helping him."
Walburga pondered, "Enemies of yours?"
"Perhaps, any one of them could have recruited Dante to exact some measure of vengeance against me, through Severus, and his friends," Marius thought of the names of those who had an ax to grind with him.
The train began to pick up speed and everybody could only watch helplessly.
"Marius, I-I'm terrified," Vesper admitted.
Marius put his arm around his loving wife, "We will do what we can from here. It's up to Black Donal, and Gabriel now. Have faith Vesper, they won't fail us." 'I hope.' Marius couldn't help but think that in his head. He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that this time, Severus was going to be in very real danger this year.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
Everybody settled into the compartment comfortably. "Has anyone see the Yalarad's or Dohrety yet?" Dorian asked.
Severus shook his head. "Neither Lily nor I saw any of them get on the train, but we weren't paying attention either."
"At least with Black Donal outside, none of them will try and force their way into this compartment and when we get to Hogwarts, they'll be too much confusion for them to start any trouble," Caddaric said.
"It'll probably be raining, too," Sirius grumbled. "Always is."
Frank, Pete, Caddaric, Jane, Dorian, and Tav played Exploding Snap while Lily, Remus, Irene, Emily, and Severus read their 4th year textbooks. Lily shared the treats her mum had made as did Regulus with the treats Kreacher had made for him and Siri and Alice provided the treats her mum had made. Sirius stared out the window, watching the scenery flying by, but didn't say much. He was still trying to work out Yalarad's and Schell's accusation towards Orion.
Lily came over and sat down by Sirius. "What's wrong, Sirius? You seem really down."
Sirius sighed. "I'm just trying to figure out what Yalarad's and Schell's game is. Schell accused dad of not being there when Yalarad's dad was killed and offered no proof except that he was there. I'm supposed to believe he's telling the truth on just 'I was there'."
"It does sound awfully weak," Lily agreed. "He didn't have any other proof other than that? I mean no eyewitness testimony other than his own? I don't think it would be accepted in our courts of law."
"Dad said Professor Gold was fighting with them. I'd ask him, but I know he's out of the country."
Lily nodded. "He told Sev and I last spring that he had been assigned to go to Albania because there were some unusual things occurring there."
Sirius shrugged. He was silent for a few moments than said, "Mum had a talk with Reg and me and told us that her and Schell had been good friends when they were at Hogwarts and asked us to treat him with respect."
Lily knew some of what Sirius said already, from what Sev's grandfather had told him, and from Gabriel's visit to Mirrorvale. "Do you think there might have been more to your mum's and Professor Schell's relationship than just friendship?"
"I don't know, but from the way dad reacts every time he even hears Schell's name, I think he thinks there might have been." Sirius yawned and closed his eyes. "I think I'm going to catch some winks before we get to school."
Lily nodded, got up, and went to sit down by Severus again. He put his arm around her shoulders and Lily put her head on his shoulder.
No sooner had the train crossed the border into Scotland then the rain began coming down in sheets, blurring the view out the windows.
"Told you so," Sirius grumbled aloud.
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
James wandered aimlessly around Potter Manor. His tutoring with Cadwaller didn't start until tomorrow or Junior League Quidditch so he was at a loss as to how to fill his time. Both his parents were gone, his dad to the bank and his mother to one of her of good deeds clubs. He glared angrily at the stack of 4th year books sitting on a table in the dining room. If it weren't for that wretch Gold and Snivellus and his friends, he'd be on the Hogwarts Express right now.
James frowned. Dante Yalarad had promised to keep him posted on what he had planned for them, but would he? He hadn't heard from Mary all summer, Daniel ignored all his owls, and Silas Attenborough, too. He didn't know whether Mary was able to get back into Hogwarts, but her parents had probably kept her nose glued to her textbooks all summer to make sure she could continue so that was probably why he hadn't heard anything from her.
He'd owl-ordered a book, 'The World's Greatest Pranks', from Zonko's in Hogsmeade so maybe that would come today and he could try out some of the pranks on the elves. He sat down at the dining room table and rang the bell that sat on the table.
An elf appeared and asked, "What can Dazzy do for Master Potter?"
"Bring me some lunch," James ordered. "And make it snappy!"
~*~* Page Break ~*~*
The rain had stopped by the time the Hogwarts Express had pulled into Hogsmeade Station, but it was still windy, drippy, and chilly. "I sure hope the elves are having hot soup tonight," Lily said as she stepped off the train. the wind blew her robe around and her hair into her face.
"I'm sure they will...probably two or three different kinds," Remus replied.
"I can't wait to get there," Dorian said. "Let's find a carriage."
"Yeah, I'm starving," Tav added.
They headed to where the carriages were waiting. Because they had be trying to avoid any confrontation with Dante or his gang, they had been slow in getting off the train There were only a couple of empty carriages left which they headed for, but were suddenly blocked by Dante, Cassidy, Sam, and his friends. "These are already taken so I guess you don't get to ride to school." He laughed. "You have to walk so you'd better get moving so you don't cause us to lose a lot of points on our first night."
"Yeah, especially those two whose father bailed on mine and got him killed. They deserve to walk!" Sam said, directing his venom at Sirius and Reg.
Frank, Remus, and Peter grabbed Sirius before he could fly at Sam and punch his lights out.
Black Donal who had gotten off the train last, following Severus, immediately spotted what was going on and moving silently, quickly and without a word, grabbed Dante and threw him over his shoulder right into a mud puddle. "I believe, Mr. Yalarad, that you and your friends are the ones who are going to be walking to school." He shepherded the teens into the carriages and as they began to move, none of them saw the enraged expression on Dante's mud-covered face as he screamed after them, "I sure hope there isn't a full moon tonight. Don't know what might be lurking in the dark!"
Remus shivered as he realized Dante knew about him.
*Snoop's Retribution Charm: It turns the hands of anybody, trying to break into Lily's trunk, bright red.
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