Chapter 62
Visions of Danger
At Hagrid's first lesson, Lily finally had an answer to a question she had been asking since the beginning of term; what the animals pulling the carriages to the school were. Hagrid took them into the forest a short distance and showed them Thestrals.
Hagrid explained that only those who had witnessed death could see them, which Ginny and Lily knew explained why they could see them. It turned out Neville and Luna could also see them, as could a couple of others in the class.
Lily did take a moment away from everyone to ask Hagrid why she hadn't seen them before the start of this year, since she had been there when her parents had been killed.
"See, I wondered that fer a while, Lily, but best I can figure, you didn't actually see it. You were in your crib at the time, so I suspect your mum put you facing away so you didn't see what was happening," Hagrid said kindly. Lily nodded; it made sense to her.
"I thought they were unlucky," Hermione commented. Hagrid shook his head.
"Nah, that's an old legend, because you can only see them if you've seen someone die. T' most, death is something scary, and dark and sad, so a lot of legends cropped up round 'em. But they're loyal and sweet creatures," Hagrid explained, as the student's watched pieces of meat seemingly disappear into thin air.
The lesson was ruined by the arrival of Umbridge, who mocked Hagrid by speaking to him as if he was stupid, and of course with Malfoy running his mouth off. Lily, unfortunately, got a detention when she snapped at Malfoy to shut his mouth. Malfoy laughed, but Lily got the last laugh after Umbridge had left by using Wingardium Leviosa to move a piece of meat to near Malfoy's foot, so one of the Thestrals bumped into him, causing him to scream in a high-pitched tone, and run away.
"Where's Colin and his camera when you need them?" Ron chuckled as they headed back to the castle.
Christmas was fast approaching, with most students, including Lily and her friends, opting to go home. Lily invited every one of her friendship group to join her, Sirius, and Remus for Christmas.
As Lily looked at the DA in the Room of Requirement, having just finished with the stun charm, and another lesson on situational awareness, with a cover lesson on baking cakes, Lily smiled. Minerva had joined them, under the guise of teaching them to bake.
There were a few days left before the Christmas holidays, and with the classes almost over, no one was really paying attention to the lessons, least of all Defence Against the Dark Arts, especially since all they did was copy from a book. Lily wondered if they were going to have completed copying the whole book so that next year, they could be given to students who didn't have them or something. Of course, she knew Umbridge wouldn't be so nice.
As she sat in the common room with Ginny, cuddled up and watching the roaring fire, Lily smiled as she gently played with Ginny's hair. "At least we survived the first half of the school year," Ginny commented softly.
"Yeah, just another six months or so to go," Lily agreed, kissing Ginny's forehead. "I've been thinking, you know, about that time we fought in the Room of Requirement. Maybe we should try that again sometime, see if we can repeat what we did," Lily said.
"Might be worth a shot, but can we try after Christmas?" Ginny asked.
"Sure. I'm hoping to go shopping with Uncle Sirius when we get back for Christmas presents, if you wanna come with," Lily offered. "We'll need bags to hide gifts from each other but that won't be difficult."
"Sounds like fun," Ginny agreed, smiling. "Are you looking forward to Christmas?"
"Getting away from Umbridge? Definitely. Spending it with you? More than anything," Lily smiled as she met Ginny's gaze.
"You know how to say the sweetest things," Ginny replied. "There's one thing I've been wondering though. Professor Dumbledore said last term that he was going to be teaching us some things, but we haven't really seen him this year."
"If I had to guess, I'd say it's because of Umbridge, but we might see him over Christmas," Lily replied. Ginny nodded.
"What do you think he'll teach us?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, a little of this, and some of that, I'd imagine" Lily tried her best Dumbledore impression, causing Ginny to snort with laughter.
"That's a good impression," Ginny complimented. "How are you doing with your… well, your medications?"
"Lana and I are in touch often, Hedwig enjoys the flight, and so far, they're working well enough, but I do have my off days," Lily admitted softly. "I hate needing to take them."
"But if they help, then that's what matters," Ginny said firmly. "I know I can tell you to stay positive, but I also know this is a struggle for you. I just wish I could do more for you."
"Hey, when we're together, I feel like I can do anything," Lily told her, smiling. "I don't even feel the headache's much anymore."
"Which means Voldemort's not able to get inside your head, thank Merlin," Ginny was relieved to hear that; Lily could tell by the sound of her voice.
"I still want to know what he's up to, so we could help the Order of the Phoenix somehow," Lily said. Ginny nodded.
"Let's meditate together and see if we can go inside his head for once. I mean, he's tried to get in our heads, so maybe we should return the favour," Ginny told her.
"You… are you feeling okay?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Honestly? I'm just frustrated more than anything," Ginny confessed. "I… I've been trying to figure out how to see inside his head, but I've not done well."
"That… that's dangerous, Ginny," Lily chided gently.
"Maybe, but he's been trying it, so why shouldn't we return the favour?" Ginny asked, her tone one that Lily knew meant she wasn't to be argued with.
"And you think together we might succeed?" Lily asked. Ginny nodded.
"I know it's dangerous, so if you think we shouldn't…"
"Hey, if you want to try this, I do too. Yeah, it's dangerous, but we need to do something. Maybe we can find something to get rid of Umbridge. Plus… if I don't, you'll keep doing it alone, and I won't let you do that," Lily said.
Both Lily and Ginny sat on the floor in front of the fire, cross legged and facing one another. They closed their eyes, and took deep breaths, before Lily started to think of Voldemort.
She had no idea if it was going to work, but if Ginny was already trying this, she wasn't going to let her girlfriend do it alone. Her girlfriend. Those two words always made Lily smile; Ginny was her girlfriend and being with her felt better than anything.
As Lily kept trying to think of Voldemort, she suddenly got a flash of light in her mind. She could almost see something.
"Lily, what is it?" Ginny's voice echoed.
"I… I can see something… but I don't know what," Lily said. She frowned as the images became clearer. She kept her eyes closed.
"Tell me what you see," Ginny insisted.
"I'm in a corridor… some kind of black brickwork, with almost a gold trim, I think," Lily said, as she seemed to move forward. She couldn't feel herself moving, but the images were clear now. "It's dark… but I can still see."
"Do you recognise where you are?" Ginny asked, her voice full of worry.
"No… it's somewhere I've never been," Lily replied. "Wait, I can… I can almost hear something… someone walking…"
"Are you… seeing what he's seeing?" Ginny's voice was close to breaking.
"No… it's not Voldemort… but it's… it's strange, I don't… wait, there's someone ahead," Lily said. "I don't know who… wait, I'm moving towards them."
"If it isn't Voldemort, who is it?" Ginny asked, clearly confused. Lily's eyes scrunched as she focused more. For a second, she ordered the vision to look left. She could see a reflection against a shiny brick wall.
"Oh crap… it's… I'm in his snake!" Lily exclaimed, before the vision began to move again. "I think I could control it for a second… I saw the reflection."
"Wait, Voldemort's snake… you're in it? How?" Ginny's voice was both excited and afraid.
"I don't know… wait… I'm nearing the person…" Lily's voice stopped as she saw who it was the snake was heading towards. She tried to control the snake again but failed as the snake launched an attack at the person, once, twice… before it could attack a third time, Lily was able to command it to leave the person alone and disappear.
Lily's eyes opened, seeing Ginny. "Ginny… it's… we need to get to Dumbledore!"
"What happened?" Ginny demanded, going pale.
"It's your dad! The snake just attacked your dad at the Ministry of Magic!"
Lily and Ginny stood up and immediately summoned Aunt Minnie, using their magic, and within moments, Minerva was entering the common room. "What's wrong?" Minerva asked, as she saw the looks of Ginny and Lily's faces.
"Aunt Minnie, it's Mr. Weasley! He's in trouble, he's just been attacked by Voldemort's snake at the Ministry of Magic!" Lily exclaimed. She had glimpsed the mind of the snake long enough to realise where it was.
"How… how do you know this?" Minerva asked. As Lily explained what they had done, her face went pale white, and her lips pursed together thinner than Lily had ever seen.
"Come with me, both of you," Minerva said. "We must go and see Professor Dumbledore."
As the three of them walked through the corridors of the school, Minerva held Lily's hand tightly. Lily knew Minerva wanted to admonish her but didn't want to risk alerting Umbridge of what was happening. She could see the look of fear and disappointment on Minerva's face; she recognised it well enough, but at the same time, there was a glimmer of perhaps hope, or pride of some kind? Lily wasn't sure, but she knew she'd find out before too long.
As they reached Dumbledore's office, Minerva stated the password (Fizzing Whizbee – Lily guessed all of Dumbledore's passwords were sweet related) and led the three quickly to the office.
Seeing Dumbledore for what felt like the first time in ages, Lily was disarmed by his brief, yet charming smile, which he always seemed to sport.
"Ah, Professor McGonagall, and Lily and Miss Weasley. Is something the matter?" Dumbledore asked, looking at the three of them.
To his credit, Dumbledore didn't interrupt Lily as she explained everything that she had seen, what she and Ginny had been doing, all of it, and as she finished, Dumbledore's smile was gone, and there was no hint of emotion in his eyes. It was the first time Lily had seen Dumbledore look so… concerned, and perhaps even empty.
Dumbledore immediately stood up, and gave instructions to two of the paintings, who both disappeared from the images.
"Both Everard and Dilys were renowned for their works, and so both have portraits in other locations, which they can travel between," Dumbledore explained, before looking at Fawkes. "We shall need a warning," he said simply to the Phoenix, who gave a soft cry, before disappearing.
"Is my dad going to be okay?" Ginny was panicking now. "What was he doing?"
"He was on duty for the Order at the Ministry, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said softly, looking at her. "We shall find him quickly, I promise you."
"How? The Ministry's big, isn't it?" Lily asked.
"There are only so many places he will be, Lily, I assure you," Dumbledore promised, meeting her look. "Tell me, why were you trying to see into Voldemort's mind?"
"We… we wanted to find out what he was doing… to help you," Lily admitted.
"It's my fault, Professor. I… I've been trying for ages, to see if I could… find his plans. He… he'd used me before, and I wanted…" Ginny began softly.
"You wanted revenge. It is understandable, Miss Weasley, given what Voldemort has done to you, but what you both tried this evening was very dangerous. We are fortuitous that you were able to see inside his snake, but it is now more imperative than ever that you both improve your studies on Occlumency. If Lord Voldemort discovers Lily was able to enter the mind of his snake, he will certainly try and turn that against you both," Dumbledore explained, just as Everard returned to his painting.
"I yelled until someone came running," Everard explained, mopping his brow on a curtain behind him. "I said I'd heard something moving downstairs. They weren't sure, but they went to check, and they carried him up a few minutes later. He doesn't look good Dumbledore; he's covered in blood…"
"Thank you, Everard," Dumbledore said, as tears were streaming down Ginny's cheek. Lily held her hand. "Dilys will see him arrive at St. Mungo's."
"I did," Dilys said, having returned a moment earlier. "They carried him past my portrait… he looks bad."
"Thank you, both of you," Dumbledore said. He then faced Minerva. "Minerva, I need you to go and wake the other Weasley children."
"Of course, Albus," Minerva agreed. "What about Molly?"
"Fawkes will alert her when he has finished keeping a lookout, but she might already know… that wonderful clock of hers," Dumbledore commented.
Lily knew what he was on about; the clock in the Weasley kitchen that could tell where every member of her family was. Even now, Lily knew the hand for Mr. Weasley must be pointing at Mortal Peril. Lily had almost broken down in tears when she'd gotten a second clock, one that had herself, Sirius, Hermione, Fleur, Lavender, and Remus to it, insisting that they were family as well.
She felt terrified; would Mr. Weasley be okay? Would Voldemort have succeeded in taking someone from them? What duty was Mr. Weasley doing at the Ministry of Magic?
Lily watched as Dumbledore went to a cupboard, returning with an old metal kettle, which he placed on his desk, and muttered the word 'Portus' which caused the kettle to glow blue before settling down.
"Phineas, please check to see if Sirius is at Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore stated. The wizard in a portrait began to object, before the other portraits began to demand he listen and threatened him.
"Very well, I'll be back shortly, if he hasn't destroyed my portrait there," Phineas stated.
"Sirius knows not to destroy your portrait, Phineas," Dumbledore said, before the wizard disappeared. Lily then realised where she had heard the voice before; back at Grimmauld Place.
Was Sirius living at the Headquarters now? Was Uncle Remus? Lily had a few questions as Dumbledore looked at her.
"When term begins, I shall ask Professor Snape to work with you both on Occlumency," Dumbledore stated.
"Why Professor Snape?" Ginny asked.
"He is an accomplished Legilimen's and will be able to educate you both exceptionally well," Dumbledore said, as the door opened, with Ron, Fred, George and Minerva entered, with the three boys looking scared and afraid.
"What's going on? Professor McGonagall said Dad was injured?" Fred demanded.
"Your father has been injured in the line of duty for the Order of the Phoenix. I'm sending you all to Lily's Uncle's house in London," Dumbledore stated. "Your father is currently in St. Mungo's, and we are awaiting news."
"How are we going? Floo powder?" George asked.
"No, the Floo Network is currently being watched. I have created a portkey to take you to Grimmauld Place," Dumbledore said, as one of Fawkes feathers appeared in a flash of light. "Professor Umbridge is aware something is up. Minerva, please go and distract her, even for a minute," Dumbledore said.
As Minerva left the office, Dumbledore prompted everyone to take hold of the portkey. "Lily, I shall speak to you there when I am able to. The rest of you, please, remain calm, your father will be okay," Dumbledore said.
As the portkey began to glow, Lily felt the usual jerking sensation as she felt herself pulled upwards, and away from Dumbledore's office, hoping things would be okay, worried about Mr. Weasley, about Professor Dumbledore, and about Ginny.
She was thankful that Ginny had encouraged her to try this, but what did this mean now? Could she do it again? Had she been in time to save Mr. Weasley? She hoped so, but she knew whatever happened, there were going to be a lot of questions for her, and Lily didn't quite know how to answer all of them. All she knew was that for one moment, she had been able to control that snake of Voldemort's, and that was the most worrying part of this whole event, because if she could control that snake, could Voldemort control her?
