Chapter 142

Is there such a thing as respect?

CONTENT WARNING: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Bigotry are a part of this chapter.

As the sun rose, Lily stood in the garden, watching the birds flying, above, singing, with the warmth of the sun giving her a good feeling. The snow had melted the week before, and whilst it was now the end of January, Lily felt a little anxious at the fact that they still hadn't found the Tomb of Slytherin.

She had spoken with Draco's Aunt Sofia, who was still working on a way to destroy the Horcrux inside Lily, Ginny, and now Nagini, who was being watched for her own protection by Crouch. She was staying in a safe house with Crouch, to give her some protection as well, though she still hadn't shown any trace of the Maledictus curse, or the hold that Voldemort had over her.

That much made Lily feel better; they had managed to save Nagini from Voldemort, giving her a chance for a much better life. She hadn't aged, and so being human again was challenging, but she was visiting Lily and the group often, helping with research. She said she had a lot to make up for, though Lily didn't blame her. No one did.

"You're up early," Ginny's voice came from behind her, though Lily had felt her presence. She smiled as Ginny handed her a mug of tea.

"Yeah, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I guess I'm just struggling with the lack of progress that we've made," Lily confessed.

"I know what you mean, but we're getting closer," Ginny pointed out. "It's gonna be hectic, but we'll manage."

"Oh, I know we will," Lily replied, smiling. "Let's face it, we've come this far. Not gonna lie, it's something of a minor miracle that Riddle hasn't figured out what we're doing yet."

"We hope, anyway," Ginny countered. "Not to be a downer or anything."

"No, I get it," Lily replied, with a small smile. "I do. We've got a lot to plan and prepare, and we've managed more than we should have."

"No kidding," Ginny chuckled softly, holding her own tea. "I just want to make sure we're going to be okay."

"Of course we are," Lily assured her, before kissing her. "Trust me; we've got this."

"You've definitely come a lot further than before, emotionally speaking. I guess meeting with Lana every other day has helped," Ginny said.

"Oh, it has," Lily agreed. "She's an amazing therapist. After the war, she definitely needs to have an office in St. Mungo's. I always wonder why there aren't therapists already."

"Honestly? I think it's because people have become too reliant on magic. If we lost magic one day, just suddenly, most people wouldn't know how to survive," Ginny said.

"Yeah, and people like Riddle are keeping us reliant on magic, but there's so much that muggles have done which is helping. Look at mobile phones; put a little magic to it and it'll be able to communicate much better, and call anyone around the world for free," Lily said.

"Yeah, you're not wrong," Ginny smiled, as the two of them sat on the garden couch, which was under the shelter in the garden, magically protected from the effects of the weather. "I've been doing some thinking, about when we finish this war and end Riddle for good."

"And? What have you decided?" Lily asked.

"Well, we're going to take that cruise you suggested, then I want to travel the world for a year. After that, I think I'm gonna go pro with Quidditch; I've played some whilst we've been here, and I always feel better in the air," Ginny said. "I know you feel the same way."

"I am," Lily agreed. "I haven't thought about Quidditch at all, but when we're done, yeah, I want to travel for a year, and then I want to study potions more. Not just because of Snape teaching me before, but because I know my mum loved it. They've helped me so much, and I want to help others in need."

"That sounds exactly like you," Ginny said, smiling. "What about the Ministry?"

"Oh, I'd like to work as an Auror, but I'll deal with potions first, maybe take my final year at Hogwarts," Lily replied.

"Sounds like a good plan," Ginny smiled. "As long as we're together, I'll be happy."

"Likewise. Today, how about we go out, do a little shopping, and just spend a day forgetting about everything? We can both use Polyjuice potion and just keep drinking it every hour, and just forget the war and act like a normal couple?"

"I'd like that," Ginny agreed, grinning.

"Alright then, let's get ready, shall we?" Lily smiled, leading the way back into the house.

Lily grinned as she and Ginny walked out of the second clothing shop they'd browsed, both carrying several bags of clothes, giggling as Ginny twirled. They were both using Polyjuice potion, but at the same time, they were also able to see each other as they normally were, thanks to a spell that Hermione and Fleur had come up with.

"You honestly look absolutely breathtaking in that dress," Lily smiled. "I think you definitely should get more."

"Well, let's find another shop then," Ginny said, before kissing Lily. "I love you, Lily."

"I love you too," Lily smiled happily. "Honestly, you make me feel complete, and anytime we're together, it feels like everything will be okay."

"Good. Keep that feeling up," Ginny said, as they walked down the street. Lily had felt happy all morning, though as she had realised before, happiness was often just a break in what life really was, and so it was time to return to the regularly scheduled crap program.

"Hey, you two need a man to help you?" a male voice called out. Lily felt her heart racing, wanting to grab her wand as Ginny held her hand down.

"Don't rise to it, love," Ginny said softly.

"Where you two going? We can keep you company."

"Dirty Dykes!"

"Forget the freak, red, come be with a real man!"

"Sissy faggot!"

"Freak!"

Lily felt her anger rising; there had been a time when she'd run in fear, but now she just wanted to get her wand out and attack.

"Lily, let's get out of here," Ginny said, leading the way down towards another shop, heading inside, before going to a lift, and closing the door. Lily saw one of the men taunting them running towards the lift, but he wasn't close enough to catch them as the doors closed.

"Bastards," Lily said, waving her wand to freeze the camera before she and Ginny disapparated away from the shop, heading to a different area, this time in Preston, near to where Sirius, Remus, and Scrimgeour were staying.

"Are you okay, love?" Ginny asked, as they walked towards the safehouse, after ending the effects of the Polyjuice potion.

"I just want to get off the streets," Lily said, as they walked down the side street, heading quickly to the safe house, and using their key to get in.

"Lily? Ginny?" Sirius asked, standing up from the sofa. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really," Ginny said, as Lily sat down. "Can you put some tea on please?"

"I got the tea," Angeline replied, her pregnancy clear now. "What happened?"

"Transphobic and Homophobic assholes when we were out shopping," Ginny explained, as Lily was visibly shaking. "We wanted to do some shopping, and yet we couldn't do that without some scum deciding they want to bully people they don't know."

"I was ready to attack them all," Lily confessed, as Scrimgeour sat next to them.

"Understandable, to be honest. I might have done if I was there," Scrimgeour replied bitterly. "If the war wasn't going as bad as it was, I'd be looking into ways to make sure people learnt respect."

"It'd be nice, but it's not something we can do, not unless we Imperius the world, though that's tempting at times," Sirius said, his teeth elongating, before Remus took his hand.

"Padfoot, my love, let's not get too angry. Right now, Lily's safe, so we can relax, and maybe have some lunch," Remus suggested. "I'll order something in."

"Thank you, Uncle Remus," Lily smiled at him, still shaking.

"Anytime. How about we order in some Chinese?" Remus suggested.

"That works," Sirius agreed. "Now, how about you two show us what you brought from the shops?"

"Like a fashion show?" Ginny suggested. "I like that idea. Come on, Lily, let's get changed," she said.

The afternoon went by smoothly, with Lily and Ginny showing off their outfits, and then everyone enjoying the massive buffet that Remus ordered in. With the sun already set, and Lily and Ginny back home, Sirius had gone with them, as had Remus, with Lana also visiting, and now Lily was sitting in front of the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate whilst everyone other than Lana, Sirius and Remus were asleep.

"I don't understand why people are the way they are," Lily admitted. "All I wanted to do was to take Ginny out for an afternoon of shopping, and yet I couldn't handle that because people were assholes."

"Unfortunately, Lily bear, that's the way the world can be. Not everyone is like it, but there are more bigots than I'd like. If I could wave my wand and make them disappear or change their ways, I would," Sirius said kindly.

"The problem is that we can't force our views onto others, because if we did, we'd be as bad as they are," Remus said softly. "Bigots believe that they are right, and they think everyone should believe the same way they do. Some use religious scriptures to justify their actions, and people listen to those as well. Others just think that if anyone wants to be different, then they're wrong and mentally ill."

"When I first came out, Lily, I faced a lot of backlash, especially because I'm a psychiatrist. People thought I'd gone insane from helping those who they thought were insane. I was cut off by my family and disowned by a lot of people I knew. It happens all too often; a lot of my friends who are transgender also suffer from the same treatment. A few people are lucky to have the right support, but it's not easy," Lana explained.

"But why?" Lily asked. "First Riddle wants to kill me because he thinks I'm a threat to him, then when I realise I'm trans, people attack me, and all I want to do is life a normal life."

"No such thing, I'm afraid," Lana told her, taking her hand. "Believe me, it's not something I like to say, but normal doesn't exist. There will always be bigots and assholes who want to attack you for daring to be yourself, but honestly, I'm proud of how far you've come," Lana told her.

"Really?" Lily asked, confused.

"There are very few people who can come out as young as you did, because they're afraid, or because they don't feel safe, or because their families would abuse them for it. Some muggle families force their children to go to what's known as conversion camps, which they claim will 'repair' their kids and fix their minds, because they can't accept a child who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, bi-gender, non-binary, or anything like that," Lana said.

"What? How the hell can anyone do that?" Lily demanded angrily, spilling her hot chocolate, which Remus quickly cleared up with a wave of his wand.

"Lily, what you need to remember is that the world isn't as perfect as we want it to be, or how we think it should be. No one will unite the world, not in the way we think should happen, and as much as it'd be nice to wave your wands to change everything, unfortunately it can't be that way. Everyone has a right to their opinion, no matter what it is. I always say that even transphobes are allowed to have an opinion, but they cross the line when they refuse to show any respect or try and demand that everyone believes the same as them," Lana explained.

"That's all I want to be honest; for people to respect me. Is it really too much to ask for?" Lily asked.

"Of course it isn't," Sirius told her. "Respect isn't hard to give, but some people are just disgusting. It's not fair, that's for damned sure."

"The problem is that there's a seemingly unending supply of toxicity and hate," Remus said. "And it's wrong. It's easy to remedy, but hate is always going to exist, which is why Riddle and his Death Eaters are able to recruit among muggles, because they just need to tell them that the pure will survive, and those they disagree with, those whom they see as freaks, will be destroyed. That's what his plan is, and from what our sources have said, some muggles simply volunteer when approached, telling them that they want to make the world better."

"That doesn't surprise me," Lana said, sighing as she shook her head. "It's a disgrace, but we'll get there. We have to keep hope, and we have to fight for what's right, otherwise we'll end up destroyed."

"I'm never giving up," Lily said firmly. "I'll stop Riddle, and I'll show the world that love is stronger than hate."

"And we'll always be here with you, Lily bear. I'm so proud of you," Sirius smiled at her. "Go get some sleep; you need it."

"Yeah, you're not wrong," Lily agreed, stifling a yawn. "See you in the morning?"

"We'll be here," Sirius promised. "Sleep well."

Lily hugged her Uncles and headed up the stairs to her bedroom that she shared with Ginny. As she got into bed, she knew Lana was right; she couldn't give up hope, no matter how dark everything seemed. Too much was depending on it.