Chapter 155

Changes and Life

As the sun rose, Lily was already awake, having been unable to sleep. It had been a week since they'd begun their attacks, though they were planning a second round of attacks. She had been studying several maps, to figure out the best place to attack, though at that moment, she was sitting in the garden, watching the sun rise, enjoying the brief moment of peace she'd get before going back to being the war leader.

She felt tired from having to fight, though she knew it was necessary. There were a lot of people depending on her; that was the part she disliked about the whole thing. Yes, she had succeeded in fighting Voldemort, but why was it that she was now the leader of the war effort?

Granted, Sirius and Remus were dealing with most of the effort; they wanted Lily to have time to herself, and to relax with Ginny. She loved them for caring so much and trying to protect her, but of course they were also trying to keep busy, especially with Angeline due to give birth within the next two weeks.

As she took a sip of her coffee, which was bitter and made her wince, she knew it wouldn't be the last of the day. Sirius drank it all the time, though she wondered how anyone could enjoy it. It did what it needed to do; kept her awake, but she didn't like the taste, and milk and sugar didn't help.

"How long have you been awake for?" Hermione asked, as she entered the kitchen.

"Couple of hours," Lily replied. "I was thinking of a new round of attacks, but I'm just trying to plan the right locations."

"You should take today off; you've been working really hard on the plans," Hermione pointed out.

"Uncle Sirius said the same thing yesterday," Lily said, sighing. "I know I'm working hard, but it feels like I need to."

"You can take the day off. The world isn't going to end because Lily Potter takes a break," Hermione said, with a small smile as she sat at the table with Lily.

"Uncle Sirius said the same thing. Do the two of you meet up just to talk about me?" Lily asked.

"Yes. Are you going to listen?" Hermione replied bluntly. Lily sighed.

"Seems like I don't have a choice," Lily said.

"You have a choice, Lily. That's what we're trying to get through to you. You have every choice. You don't even have to be here fighting if you don't want to be," Hermione said.

"Not like I've got any other choice. Can't exactly go back to Hogwarts, not with Riddle hunting me, and whilst he's running around, I can't have a normal life. No one can. As much as I'd love to live peacefully, war isn't allowing us to do that," Lily pointed out. "It has to be me."

"We just want you to see the amazing person you are. You're our friend, Lily, and family. You're the sister I always wanted, and now… are you okay?" Hermione frowned as she saw Lily wince in pain. Lily nodded.

"It's the potion. My body is… starting to change more," Lily replied. "I… it's a little embarrassing."

"What is?" Hermione asked kindly, smiling at her. "What's happening?" Lily sighed softly and looked down.

"My… well, it's… weird, but it's starting to… change," Lily replied. Hermione frowned, before she realised what Lily meant.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I mean… we knew it would happen, but I… well, I…"

"Want to know a little more, for research's sake," Lily guessed. Hermione blushed, nodding.

"Yeah, I… but I don't want it to be awkward," Hermione told her. "Just… well, you know how I like to know things."

"Yes, I'm aware," Lily chuckled softly. "It's… well, it's a little painful at times, but it feels weird. I mean, I can feel the changes happening, inside and out. I think the potion does numb a lot of the pain, but there are times when it does hurt."

"How long have the changes been happening?" Hermione asked.

"They became noticeable about three months ago," Lily replied. "I know they're just beginning, but it's working. The pain only happens in the morning, thankfully. I don't know if that's just lucky or intentional."

"I still don't understand how the potion works. I mean, the ingredients are… unusual, to say the least, and a potion doing everything…" Hermione said, her voice trailing off.

"I know, I don't fully get it either," Lily admitted. "It's… well, I've been studying as much as I can, but my knowledge of potions isn't as good as yours."

"You've proven to be better at potions than I am, Lily, since…" Hermione once again paused, but Lily understood why.

"Since Snape taught me privately, I know," Lily agreed. "I'm going to be honest; I don't think Snape is… well, evil. I think, and I could be wrong, but I think Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him."

"Lily, you know that sounds… well, insane?" Hermione asked.

"I know, and I know the others won't agree with me. But before Dumbledore, Ginny, and I went out that night, Snape spoke to me and told me what would happen would have to happen, and I'd need to hate him," Lily said. "I think he and Dumbledore knew the attack would happen, and he wanted Snape to kill him to Blaise wouldn't have to. He definitely knew Blaise was behind everything."

"Wait, Dumbledore knew Blaise almost killed Katie and Ron, and he said nothing?" Hermione asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Yeah… and believe me, I don't understand why he let it happen if he knew it was going on," Lily said, no hint of a smile on her face. "I'm not sure I'll ever understand. His plans were always… weird, and they didn't work as well as he wanted."

"No, that's true, given how he wanted you raised with your muggle family," Hermione agreed. "And that spell he cast on you when you were a baby."

"Yeah, you're not wrong," Lily replied, sighing. "There's a lot I can't understand, but all of this… well, anyway, we know Dumbledore knew he was dying. Before we returned to Hogwarts, he admitted it to us, but he didn't say what happened. If he knew that Blaise had been ordered to kill him, he wouldn't want that to happen, so he planned things with Snape. That way, Snape could stay undercover as well."

"Lily, you know that sounds… well…"

"Completely insane," Lily agreed. "I know, which is why I think it's true. It's insane that even Riddle wouldn't think of it, but it would definitely be something Dumbledore would think of."

"I mean, I can't disagree, but do you really think it's possible?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe. I mean, it's a possibility, but I could be wanting it to be real just to think that I wasn't betrayed by Snape," Lily said.

"As long as you know that could be the case," Hermione said. "I don't want to discourage you Lily, but we need to think realistically about this."

"I know, and I will," Lily promised, before seeing something out of the kitchen window. She stood up, just as a large dog patronus sped through the wall and into the kitchen.

"That's Uncle Remus's Patronus," Lily said, before the dog began to speak.

"We're at Kappa safe house; you need to come immediately. Angeline has just gone into labour, as has Angelina Johnson," the dog spoke in Remus's voice, before disappearing. Lily and Hermione looked at each other, before racing to get the others.

"Uncle Remus!" Lily exclaimed, as she raced through the door into Kappa safe house. It was a larger building, but most of it was underground, with a large medical wing, prepared over the last few months because of the multiple pregnancies amongst the Order of the Phoenix.

"Lily!" Remus said, embracing her in a hug. "Your Uncle Sirius is in with Angeline; I said I'd wait out here."

"Go, get in there. We'll wait for the others," Lily said, kissing Remus's cheek.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Remus said. "But we want you in with us."

"Me?" Lily asked.

"Trust me, we want you there," Remus said. Ginny nodded, smiling.

"Go," Ginny told her. She watched as Remus and Lily ran through the doors to the room they had prepared for giving birth.

"Why did they want Lily there?" Ron asked.

"My guess it's because Lily's the reason they're all together; she made sure Remus was released, and pardoned, and she's their daughter more than anything else," Ginny replied, sitting down. "Is Viktor here already?"

"I am now," Viktor's voice came from behind them as he walked in. "I vas out shopping with Tonks ven I got their call," he explained.

"Nervous?" Ginny asked. Viktor nodded.

"Extremely," Viktor replied. His time with Angelina had helped him with his accent and pronunciation of most words.

"You should get in there, Viktor," Hermione said, smiling as she hugged her friend. "Congratulations, Viktor. You're going to be a great father."

"How do you know?" Viktor asked.

"Because you're an awesome guy. You helped me so much during the tournament, and you've taught me a lot. You'll be able to teach your child as well," Lily said. Viktor smiled at her.

"Thank you, Lily. It has been a privilege being your friend," Viktor said, before he went into the birthing room. As the door was open briefly, they heard a loud scream of pain.

"Is that normal?" Lily asked.

"The scream of pain? Yeah," Hermione replied.

"Not something I'd be looking forward to," Ginny commented.

"Not something you need to worry about just yet," Ron added firmly. "You're not even seventeen yet."

"Almost, but I know. We don't intend to have kids for years," Ginny said.

"You both want kids?" Hermione asked, as Minerva arrived.

"I'm sorry, did I hear what I thought I did?" Minerva asked.

"Don't worry, we're not thinking about kids for a long time yet," Ginny said, chuckling.

"Did you and Lily speak about kids?" Minerva asked, frowning.

"We discussed it a couple of times, though mostly we're just wanting to go on a cruise when we've finished with this war, then relax and settle down," Ginny replied. "We've talked about the future a lot, to be honest. She's helped me feel more confident about the future."

"I understand that; it's only natural for the two of you to discuss the future," Minerva told them. "You're going to have a lot of confused feelings as well, because you don't know what the future is going to bring."

"No. I mean, we know that we're going to win this war; we have to. But at the same time, there's a lot we want to happen. Lily has been told she's going to have a job as an Auror if she wanted one, and she likes the idea, but she also wants to explore and find herself outside of war," Ginny explained.

"Sounds about right," Draco said. "I've been thinking about the same thing, to be honest."

"What do you want from the future?" Hermione asked.

"After we've won the war? I've done plenty of things wrong whilst I was at Hogwarts, and now I want to do things right and help people. I don't want people to suffer like I have," Draco said.

"So you want to be a counselor?" Ginny asked. Draco nodded.

"I've had meetings with Lana, and she's helped me, a lot. I want to learn from her. She's the first muggle I've known that I want to learn from, and she's given me some books to read and study," Draco said.

"That sounds wonderful, Draco. You're going to be amazing," Minerva complimented. "You've become quite a fine, young man since you've been friends with Lily, and it's been good to see. I am sorry for the pain you went through, but you've taken that pain and chosen your new path."

"It can't have been easy for you, mate," Ron said. "But at the same time, even calling you mate is something that wouldn't have happened a couple of years ago."

"I'll bet," Draco chuckled softly. "I don't understand why our path has led us all here, but I am thankful."

"So am I," Ron agreed. "You've done a lot, Draco, and you're a part of our family now."

"That means a lot to me Ron, thank you," Draco said. Pansy smiled as she held Draco's hand.

"I'm glad that you're here Draco. I'm glad that we're together," Pansy said. "I'm thankful to Lily, and all of you, for helping us to find a better sense of peace."

"We're glad we could help, but the light was within you all along. Lily's gift can't force light onto someone, it just helps them to bring the light out," Ginny explained.

"I never used to think I'd want to have light, and be on your side, but now, I wonder how I ever fought against you," Draco admitted. "It's… just annoying, I guess, that the clues were always there but I never paid attention."

"That's because you had people confusing you, and keeping you stuck. Not your parents, but Crabbe, Goyle, and the other Slytherin's were encouraging you to be dark, and mean," Hermione said. "That's got to be hard. You wanted people to follow you, and you wanted your parents to be proud of you."

"Getting to speak to my father's spirit back at Slytherin's castle… it did help me find peace," Draco admitted. "He wasn't all bad. He had his honour, and he cared about me. We all make mistakes, and his were big. I just wish we could do things different."

"We all do. But if we change any of our past, then we wouldn't be who we are now," Lavender pointed out.

"No, you're quite right, Miss Brown," Minerva agreed. "We have all followed this path together, and we will remain on it to the end."

"Yeah, I just hope that end comes soon. We've still got to get into Gringotts, and then find the last of the Horcruxes," Hermione said. "I hope we can finish this before too long."

"We've been studying the books and the artefacts we got from Draco's aunt's house. Ginny, we think we've found a way to remove the Horcrux fragments from you and Lily. We're still exploring it, but we suspect that we need to go into your mind, and destroy it from the inside," Minerva explained.

"Is that even possible?" Ginny asked, frowning.

"That's what we're researching now. In theory, it's possible. There are stories that it has been done before, but nothing we've seen tells us how," Minerva said. "Which just means we need to keep looking, and I think, with Barty Crouch Jr helping, we'll have the answers we need sooner rather than later."

"That's comforting to know," Ginny said. "I know Lily's been worried about that part. Hell, both of us have."

"I can understand why," Minerva took Ginny's hand comfortingly. "But we will find the answer, and we will destroy Riddle, once and for all."

"I know. Thank you, for always being here," Ginny smiled, hugging the older woman.

"You're going to be my niece as well. You're family now, and there's nothing I won't do for my family," Minerva told her, just as the doors opened, with Lily, Remus, and Sirius walking out, all three of them grinning.

"I have a daughter!" Sirius exclaimed.

"And I have a son," Remus added. Everyone began to clap and embraced Sirius and Remus in congratulatory hugs.

"How's Angelina?" Hermione asked.

"Still in labour," Lily said, a goofy smile on her face. "I…"

"You okay?" Ginny asked.

"She's just processing that we asked her to be the twin's godmother," Sirius chuckled.

"Godmother?" Ginny asked.

"You as well, Ginny. You'll both be their godparents," Sirius said.

"Sirius, Angeline, and I all agree that you're the right people for the job," Remus said, chuckling at the look on Ginny's face.

"Wow… that… I mean…" Ginny began to stammer, causing the others to laugh.

"Once Angelina's given birth, we'll take you in to see the kids," Sirius said, as Viktor came out.

"I haff a daughter," Viktor said, the accent clearer than before in his voice, which Lily put down to surprise.

"Congratulations," Lily said, which was followed by the same words from the others. "How do you feel?"

"I do not know yet. It feels… exciting, yet I am also terrified, given the state of the world," Viktor admitted.

"Is Angelina up for visitors?" Hermione asked.

"I vas asked to come and get all of you," Viktor nodded as he spoke, opening the doors and letting everyone through.

"They look so cute!" Lily gushed, seeing the three children sleeping peacefully in their cribs. The doctor, a friend of Lana's, was talking with Lana about the birth process, and about what she had just been told about the magical world, whilst everyone was fussing over the babies, as well as over Angelina and Angeline.

"Have you all decided on names?" Ron asked.

"We have, though we needed to talk about them first," Remus smiled. "Our son is going to be called James Lupin Black, and our daughter is going to be Minnie Lupin Black."

"Oh, Sirius, Remus…" Minerva sounded touched as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Whilst our daughter," Angelina grinned as she spoke. "Is going to be called Lily Krum."

Lily felt tears welling up as she looked at her friends.

"I… this…" Lily couldn't find the words.

"You helped bring us together by uniting us all," Angelina said. "And we agreed that we wanted to name our daughter after you."

Lily hugged Angelina and Viktor, feeling touched and thrilled. She had wanted to have a good feeling, and a feeling of normality, for even a brief moment during the war, but now she had the feeling in spades, and she knew that no matter what happened, nothing could take this feeling of joy from her.

Not even Voldemort.