Chapter 13

Dementors, Prophecies, and Maps

The entire school knew, within hours, that Harry Potter was dead, and Lily Potter was alive. As she went to her first class the next morning with the Hufflepuff's, most of them kept their distance. Lily tried to ignore it as she worked with Ron and Hermione in their Muggle Studies lessons. She found the teacher, Professor Burbage, was very friendly and sweet to everyone, which made Lily even more grateful that she, Ron and Hermione had taken Burbage's class instead of Divination. She had heard the class was almost useless as Professor Trelawny was "nuttier than a niffler".

Lavender and Parvati were disappointed that Lily didn't take the class. They loved Trelawney and believed the perceptions of the Professor was wildly inaccurate. Hermione rolled her eyes when the two girls began to read their tea leaves in the evening, particularly when they began to predict that some of the Hogwarts familiars were going to drastically change.

Lily had no idea what that meant and, truthfully, she was far too preoccupied to think about such things. While most of the Gryffindors treated Lily with respect and kindness, correcting themselves on the accidental use of her dead name, most of the other students weren't so accommodating. Some of the students kept their distance, including a few other Gryffindor's, but the Slytherin's were taking every chance to whisper the word 'freak' to her whenever they passed by her, or purposefully shoulder bumped her.

With the upcoming match against the increasingly aggressive Slytherins, Lily was feeling a little nervous. Wood had been training them hard, however, and was a natural at boosting their confidence.

Her lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts were going well, with Sirius proving himself to be an amazing teacher. So far, they'd learnt about several dark creatures, such as Grindylows, Hinkypunks and even Vampires, as well as several curses and counter curses. What impressed Harry was that even the Slytherin's were paying attention to his classes. Malfoy, who had complained loudly at the blood traitor teaching them in the beginning, looked begrudgingly more impressed and attentive after each lesson.

Sirius later explained about the various Wizarding bloodlines, the Sacred 28, and the tensions between the Blacks and the Malfoys. All of it sounded ridiculous to Lily, though it certainly explained some of the discrimination that the muggleborns faced… Hermione had listened with rapt attention and went to do some extra curricular research. Hagrid had mentioned, during the Mudblood incident last year, the wizards would have died out if the purebloods hadn't started to mate with muggles. Statistically speaking, Hermione later told Lily and Ron, Hogwarts should have many more students. The numbers of the students in the school didn't match up with the registered births of half-bloods and muggleborns within the United Kingdom. It turned out that Hogwarts only trained those who's magical core was powerful enough to warrant the need for extra lessons, to learn how to control their magic.

It certainly was a revelation. Hermione had been upset at first, thinking it was unfair that other witches and wizards were being denied education because their magic wasn't "potent enough", but she channelled that into further research and reading. Ron joked that Hermione would rock Wizarding society when she eventually became the first Muggleborn Minister of Magic. Lily gently reminded her to not forget about assisting her in research on transitioning.

As the morning of the first Quidditch match of the season arrived, Wood came to breakfast flustered and angry. The team looked at him, concerned. "Oliver, what's wrong?" Lily asked.

"Malfoy, that lying, scheming weasel of a snake is claiming he can't play because of that crap with his arm, so we're now playing Hufflepuff. We've been training for Slytherin! The Hufflepuffs have a completely different style," Wood seethed. "And the weather is awful, so we'll be flying in poor conditions."

"Oliver, we've been against Hufflepuff before, it's going to be okay. We can do this," Lily comforted him. "A little bad weather isn't going to stop us, either!"

"She's right, Oliver. Lily's never lost us a match yet, and she's got this," Fred agreed.

"We can do this," Angelina Johnson added. Oliver nodded, trying to calm down.

"Oliver, we're going to win. Hufflepuff may have Diggory as seeker, but no one has ever been able to match Lily, ever," Katie Bell told him.

Oliver grimaced, shooting a dark look over at Malfoy who was proudly displaying his sling at the Slytherin table. It had been almost two weeks since the Hippogriff Incident, and the blond male was exacerbating the injury, for whatever reason.

"Alright, let's make sure we win then," he agreed, looking back to his team. "Pride!"

"Pride!"


Lily shivered as the rain pouring down on her, fogging up her glasses. She kept wiping them, but she was struggling to keep herself steady and safe, dodging lightening strikes in unsuccessful attempts to try and find the snitch to end the match as quickly as possible. What was Madam Hooch thinking, not postponing the match?!

During the break, however, Hermione was able to enchant Lily's glasses so that they were impervious to liquid. When Lily went back up into the air, clouds and fog still obscured most of the pitch, but she was able to see the glinting of the golden snitch not long after.

As she pushed her broom towards it, however, the chill became more intense. It seeped into her bones, into her very core, and her teeth chattered just as the screaming began to start. It was blood curdling, terrified, horribly familiar in her subconscious, and Lily looked around in panic to see the horror of the Dementors flying towards her.

Lily tried to flee towards the rest of her team, but a blinding pain seared through her skull and the screams became deafening. Her body became slack, and her frozen hands slipped off the broom. The last thing she remembered was the scream of what she now recognised as her mother's voice, begging someone not to hurt Harry.


A painfully bright light burned Lily's eyes as she struggled to open them. She was warm, but sore, and she could hear concerned murmurs around her. It took a few moments before she could understand what was being said.

"How far did she fall?"

"Way too far. Lucky thing Dumbledore was there."

"She's coming around, shhh."

"What… what happened?" Lily croaked, trying to force herself to sit up. Glasses were pushed into her hand, and she shakily placed them on, blinking as the Gryffindor team came into focus. A pale Ron and Hermione were there too.

"Thank Merlin you're okay," Hermione sniffed.

"What happened?" Lily asked again. She frowned at the masculine sound. Hermione pulled out her wand, and quickly cast the spell for Lily. She was trembling.

"The Dementors… they were tired of being kept outside the grounds, and they felt… they felt everyone's emotions, and went for you. You fell… Dumbledore saved you somehow," Hermione explained, her arms around herself. "He almost didn't save you in time. The pitch was in chaos, with those… those creatures, and the storm, and…"

"What about the match?" Lily questioned, relieved to hear her voice as feminine again. "Are we playing again?"

"I…" Ron started, but stopped, looking down.

"We… we didn't lose?" Horror filled Lily as she turned to stare at the rest of the team. Oliver was missing.

"Diggory caught the snitch right after you fell. He tried to get a rematch, but Madam Hooch called it a win for Hufflepuff. Even Oliver's accepted it, but we think he's trying to drown himself in the shower," Fred replied. "But don't you dare blame yourself. Those Dementors shouldn't have moved from their station."

"Did anyone get my broom?"

Ron made a pained noise.

"Well, it… it flew off after you fell off… and… well, it hit the whomping willow, and you remember…" Ron stammered, bending to pick up something on the floor. A sheet was wrapped around the item and as Ron put it on the foot of the bed, a sense of distraught filled Lily's body at seeing the shattered remains of her faithful broom.


While Lily was physically okay, Madam Pomfrey kept Lily in for observation overnight regardless. It felt much longer than that, and no amount of chocolate or heat could fully shake the sense of cold she had deep inside her. When the Matron made to Vanish the remains of the splintered broom, she had begged Madam Pomfrey to let her keep the remains of her Nimbus 2000. She knew it was illogical because it couldn't be repaired but it was a gift from Uncle Sirius.

Early next morning, when Lily was finally released from the wing, she went to find Sirius. She was tired, her night restless with nightmares full of screams and bright green lights, and her mind whirling with questions. Sirius took one look at her and motioned that the two go to his office, his own face drawn and stressed.

"I'm sorry about your broom Lily. I'm guessing there is no way to repair it?"

"No, it's gone," Lily replied, shuffling on her feet. "Uncle Sirius, I…Um..."

Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know you can talk to me about anything. No judgement."

"I… Uncle Sirius, why do the dementors affect me so much? Am I broken?"

"What?! No, not at all Lily!" He placed both hands on her shoulder, looking deeply into her eyes. At last, Lily began to feel some sense of safety. "You are not broken. The Dementors are pulled towards emotions, and yours are deeper than anyone else's. You've experienced traumas and darkness that none of your fellow students can ever imagine. That's why they wanted you. Dumbledore was furious about their being at the match."

"But on the train, you managed to fight one off," Lily pointed out. "How?"

"Well, there is a charm, but it's not easy to learn. Given how the dementors are going to be around for the rest of the year, and your strong reaction to them, it may be worth you learning it," Sirius said thoughtfully. "Maybe Ron and Hermione as well."

"And it will stop me from hearing my mum screaming?"

Sirius froze at her words before pulling her into a bone crushing hug. "When are you three available to begin?" He mumbled into her hair. He sounded close to tears.


One highlight to the horrible third year was how the third-year students and above could visit the nearby wizarding village of Hogsmeade during the weekend. Lily and her friends were excited to get away from the sombre atmosphere of Hogwarts, the presence of the Dementors making all students and teachers more irritable and gloomier.

A couple of days before the weekend, however, Sirius asked Lily, Ron and Hermione to visit him in his office. He looked stressed as he paced the room. "Lily, I need to tell you something," Sirius finally said, looking at them. "There's a lot I need to tell you, and some things I haven't told you yet. And seeing as Hermione and Ron are your best friends, it's important for them to hear this too."

"What do you mean?" Lily questioned. "What things?"

Sirius guided her to a chair. "Lily, I can't let you go to Hogsmeade this weekend," Sirius told her gently but firmly. "It's because of Remus Lupin. I know we said he was looking for you, but now you need to know why."

"What? But Uncle Sirius –"

"No buts," he interrupted. "Lily, just after you were born, a prophecy was made. I don't know the exact details, but what Dumbledore told me, shortly after I adopted you, was that it involved a child born at the end of July, who would bring about the end of Voldemort. He took it to mean that the child was you," Sirius said. "The Potters were a powerful family, one that defied him. And when he heard about the latest Potter baby, he believed that the prophecy referred to you."

"That's… that's why Voldemort killed my parents? Because he was after me?" Lily repeated, nausea rising in her.

"It is," Sirius confirmed. He swallowed thickly. "That's… that's not the worst of it. The man we warned you about, Remus Lupin, who's coming after you? Well, before you were born, he was a friend of your parents. He was… special to me. I loved him. I suppose a part of me still does, but what he did… I'll never forgive."

Lily had never seen her uncle look so flustered or tongue tied before.

"Remus, he and I were lovers, and he was… Lily, he was your second Godfather." Sirius croaked. "And he betrayed your parents. At Hogwarts, we were best of friends with your parents and another man, Peter Pettigrew. Peter was… well, he wasn't great at magic, but he was a good kid, so we protected him. When we learnt your parents, and you, were being targeted, they went into hiding."

"The same way Professor Dumbledore hid me?" Lily asked.

"Kind of. There is a spell, the Fidelus Charm, that can hide someone from everyone unless the trusted person, the secret keeper, reveals the location. Your dad wanted me to be secret keeper, but I told them to go with Remus. I was always the strongest one, and a Black to boot, so it was natural to think that I would be the Potter's secret keeper. Remus, though… he's a werewolf. They have natural resistances to some magic. If Voldemort ever found out it was him and was dumb enough to go up against a werewolf, Remus would have more of a fighting chance."

Lily's eyes welled up in response to Sirius's tearful expression.

"But instead, he told Voldemort where we were," she concluded. "Why? Why did he…"

"I don't know Lily, but after you destroyed Voldemort, Peter tracked Remus down. Remus murdered him and the explosion killed three nearby muggles. All the Aurors found of Peter was a finger." Sirius took a few deep breaths, gathering himself. "Peter didn't deserve that. He was a little pest at times, clingy and insecure, but he was a loyal friend. Remus was caught laughing at the scene and was taken to Azkaban."

"I'm so sorry, Uncle Sirius," Lily said gently, resting her head on his shoulder. "You aren't to blame for his actions, though. You couldn't have known that he would have betrayed all of you so horrendously."

"Part of me was ready to track that son of a bitch down myself, but the second I found you, I knew what I had to do. I had to look after you and fulfil the promise I made to your parents. Professor Dumbledore wanted you to go to your muggle aunt and uncle, but I refused to let that happen," Sirius told her. "Lily and her sister fought a lot, and I doubt she would have wanted you to stay with her. Instead, you got me."

"I'm glad you raised me, Uncle Sirius. You love me like your own daughter, and you're a father to me," Lily kissed his cheek.

"Professor Black… the prophecy you mentioned… do you know about it?" Hermione asked, her voice hesitant.

Sirius shook his head. "I'm afraid not. All I know is what I told you, that it was important, and that Voldemort feared it. What that means is anyone's guess," Sirius shrugged. "I just… I need you to promise me that you won't go to Hogsmeade. Remus, rumour has it, has been seen nearby."

"Okay, Uncle Sirius. I won't go." Lily promised. "At least, not until after that bastard is caught. I need a new broom, after all."

Sirius chuckled, straightening out some of Lily's hair. He still looked troubled, but he grinned at the three. "What Ron and Hermione do is up to them, of course. But I figured you would have told them what I just said, anyway. Nothing is a secret with you lot. But anyway, enough of my rambles. Go and do whatever it is you young'uns do during time off; prank some Slytherins or something."

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying, Uncle Sirius," Lily offered.

"Nah, enjoy your free time. Besides, I've got homework to grade," Sirius told her, kissing her forehead.

Lily waved with a grin as they left his office, but it rapidly faded the further the three walked from it.

"Lily, are you okay?" Ron checked in. "That was some pretty heavy stuff Sirius just revealed."

Lily shook her head. "Uncle Sirius… I knew something bad had happened before, but I never knew what," Lily sighed as they walked out of the castle towards the courtyard. "I can't begin to imagine what he's going through. Imagine being betrayed by someone you loved like that..."

"I feel sorry for him. In the space of a night, he lost his dearest friends and a partner. That's enough to drive anyone barmy," Hermione agreed. "And now, to know that his ex is after his only child... No wonder he is so protective over you."

"Well, we have your back too, Lily," Ron vowed. "Not sure what we can do against a werewolf but…"

"Geez, I feel safer already," Lily deadpanned, rolling her eyes. But she smiled to show she wasn't being serious. "Hey, I might not be able to go Hogsmeade but that doesn't mean you have to stay behind with me. You've both been looking forward to going, so go!"


When the weekend finally arrived, and the Hogwarts students were buzzing to go (escorted to the gates by a grumpy Filch), Hermione and Ron tried to insist that they would stay and keep Lily company.

"Just go, okay? Tell me about it when you get back," Lily told them stubbornly. "I know you both want to go, so go! Honestly. I don't mind."

"Lily, we don't want you to be alone," Hermione complained.

"I won't be, plenty of people around," Lily said. "Hurry up and go grab your coats, otherwise you'll miss your chance. Just promise to bring me back some sweets."

"We will," Ron promised hesitantly, as Lily handed them her coin pouch. She watched as Hermione and Ron shrug on their coats and walked with them to the front doors of Hogwarts to join the rest of the excited students.

Lily waved as Filch began to herd the students away. She swallowed through the lump in her throat as she turned to go back to the common room, just in time to see Fred and George come outside.

"Not going to Hogsmeade, Lily-kins?" Fred asked when they saw her.

"No, I can't. Uncle Sirius asked me not to, and for a good reason," Lily replied. She saw Fred and George exchange puzzled looks, so she explained what Sirius had told her.

"Well, hell. Does anyone else know?" George inquired; worry etched on his face.

"Ron and Hermione, and I'm pretty sure Malfoy knows, given how he mocked me at the start of term," Lily said, sighing. "It's a shame that I can't go but…"

Fred and George looked at one another and nodded.

"Alright Lily, come with us," Fred and George said at the same time, twin smirks replacing the concern. She followed the two to an empty classroom and watched as they pulled out a piece of old parchment.

"If you're going to stay safe, Lily," Fred started.

"You're going to need this; the secret of our success," George continued.

"It's a wrench giving it to you," Fred smiled.

"But we agree," As George spoke, Lily buried the urge to sigh at how theatrical the twins could be.

"Your needs are greater than ours," they both said, showing her the blank parchment.

"A piece of old parchment?" Lily raised an eyebrow, wondering what game the twins were playing.

"Piece of old parchment," George scoffed. He took out his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he said, tapping the parching. Lily watched in amazement as words began to form, as well as a large image on the paper.

"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present the Marauder's Map," Lily read out. George opened it, and Lily gasped. It showed all of Hogwarts, with symbols and names everywhere. "Is this?"

"A map of Hogwarts, showing everyone, wherever they are at any time," Fred and George confirmed. She looked at one name, Dumbledore, seeing him in his office.

"He has been pacing a lot in his office a lot lately," George commented, as Lily found her name, with Fred and George. She gasped again as she saw the name Lily Potter.

"It… it knows my new name?" Lily asked, amazed.

Fred laughed. "That's who you are Lily. The day you told everyone of your new name the map updated itself to show it. The map is amazing. You are Lily, and this proves it. Hogwarts believes it, so does the map, and you do too. I know some of the students are being dicks, but magic doesn't lie."

"We didn't want to tell anyone else about the map, but it's one of the reasons we knew how much this meant to you," George added.

"Keep this with you and be careful. There are tunnels that lead to outside the castle, the best one is behind the statue of the one-eyed witch. It leads to Hogsmeade, and it's secure since it leads to Honeydukes cellar," Fred explained. "It's easy to sneak out. But maybe take that awesome invisibility cloak too, just to be on the safe side."

"We've studied the map religiously, so we know all the entrances and exits. It's probably time we pass it on to someone worthy. But, more than just for breaking the rules, this can keep you safe," George added with a moment of seriousness that was quite uncharacteristic for him. "It also shows some of the grounds, too, just in case that Lupin somehow gets passed the Dementors."

Fred nodded in agreement. "Now, when you're done, just tap it and say Mischief Managed."

"Mischief Managed," Lily said, tapping the map with the tip of her wand. She grinned as the map vanished. She placed it inside her robes. "This is amazing. Thank you!"

"Just remember, when this is done and Lupin is caught, use the map well, and cause as much mischief as you can," Fred joked.

Lily laughed and didn't jump out of the way of a hair ruffle.

"Thank you again, both of you," Lily said, hoping she sounded as sincere as she felt.

"Anytime, Lily," Fred and George told her at the same time. "Have fun!"

Despite the nightmares she was facing, she felt thankful that she had Fred and George, and the other friends from Gryffindor, in her life. She knew that no matter what, she'd always be okay with friends like them.