Brothers were strange creatures.

It had not taken Lily Potter a long time to discover this fact, and even at age thirteen she felt quite within her rights make this judgement; after all, with two older brothers as well as Teddy (her pretend brother) she had plenty of experience. Add that to all Mum’s stories about growing up with Uncle Ron and Uncle George and Uncle Percy and Uncle Charlie and Uncle Bill, and she had all the evidence.

Sometimes Lily thought her brothers were a lot like Uncle Ron and Uncle George. Albus was at times extremely awkward and could be an absolute git, but when it really counted, he was brave and he took care of her. Sometimes too much. But she forgave him for it, because she knew it was just because he cared.

James was the eternal joker but also intelligent (though not at all bookish), which made his jokes all the more funny though sometimes harmful. But when she thought about James, Lily felt like there was something missing. When Mum talked about Uncle George, you could tell that he had cared for her and looked after as much as Uncle Ron had when she was little, though he might have shown it differently. But James... well... it wasn’t that Lily didn’t love James, of course she did, and she did believe that he loved her... but he seemed very distant in the short amount of time she did get to spend with him.

Despite the fact that there were two school years between each of the Potter children, there was a nearly three year gap between Albus and James, and only a year and a half between the former and Lily. Thus, even before James went to Hogwarts, the younger two had tended to stick together while James had kept to himself or Flooed to Shell Cottage to play with Louis. And when Teddy came over, James demanded the older boy’s attention all for himself, explaining that he was the oldest and therefore least likely to bore Teddy. Despite this, they were close as a family and many happy afternoons were spent playing together.

Lily was barely seven when James went to Hogwarts. She was teary when he got on the train, but that was nothing in comparison to Mummy. She was sobbing like he was leaving forever, but when asked why she was so upset, she smiled through her tears and explained that she was crying out of happiness. Unfortunately for Lily, her brother came to farewell her just after he had extricated himself from his mother’s arms (this had been a long and involved process, and one he was keen to forget as soon as possible), and therefore brushed Lily off when she tried to hug him.

Had James known it had affected her he would have looked back on the incident with regret, but as it was he was desperate to get to school and never thought on in it again. For Lily, however, it set the tone of their relationship. When he came home for Christmas, he didn’t want to play with her and Albus at all. He said that ‘Death Eaters and Aurors’ was a silly children’s game, and as for pretending to be Dad and Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, he wouldn’t be seen dead playing that.

“But Jamie... how can we play it without you? Then Al has to be Dad and Uncle Ron, and that doesn’t work,� Lily whined, but James just turned away and went to his room to do ‘more important things’ like write to his friends and his homework.

James had said that Teddy would no longer want to play their silly games, but when their ‘pretend’ brother arrived, he was the first to suggest a game of Fanged Frisbee – and then James joined in cheerfully, as though he was about to suggest it. And that was what confused Lily. Hadn’t he just said that he thought their games were childish...?

Therefore, due to either her parents’ persuasion or the excitement of doing something with Teddy, there were times when the three Potter children played happily together, but Lily always had the feeling that James only played with her because he had to.

Al was different. For both of them. He would always be willing to play with Lily, and yet there were times when he and James disappeared Merlin knew where – although often at the end of these times they were fighting.

When Albus left for Hogwarts, she worried that the same thing would happen as with James. That Hogwarts would swallow up her brother and spit someone else out.

She needn’t have worried. Al wrote to her personally all about Hogwarts, she didn’t just find out how he was from letters to Mum and Dad. When he came home for the holidays, although he still wrote letters to his friends and did his homework, he found time every day to play with her until she was too old for children’s games.

James, however, remained as distant as ever. To her, that was. She knew that he and Al were closer and less likely to fight than ever. Something about Hogwarts had brought them both to a point of understanding of each other, which sometimes made Lily feel lonely.

Finally it was Lily’s turn to go to Hogwarts. Mum cried even more than she had when James had gone, and even Dad had a tear in his eye. Having watched her older brothers leave, Lily understood at least a little of her parents’ emotion, but Mum’s cry of “What am I going to do?� seemed a little dramatic. After all, this was Lily’s Mum, and she never ran out of things to do.

James was a fifth-year by now (and certainly not a Prefect, therefore not obliged to deign to talk to first-years) and still he hardly talked to her. It wasn’t like Lily was out of company, after all Al would sometime come and check on her, and she had Hugo and Rose and Fred and Lucy to talk to as well, plus she was confident yet eager to please so made friends quickly, but, simply put, she missed James. Like she had missed him since he went to Hogwarts.

In her third year, Lily had her first boyfriend. Al was, predictably, over-protective. He would spy on their dates and loudly interrupt their conversation whenever they looked ‘too close’. It was irritating, and in the end the boy left her for it. She and Al argued about it for a while, but secretly she appreciated his concern, and Daniel had been a prat anyway.

It was later that year things really changed. Lily was relishing the freedom and the increasingly warm weather on a Hogsmeade weekend in late March. She had left her friends briefly and was walking towards the Shrieking Shack. Over the Christmas holidays, she had been talking to Teddy alone while Al and James were doing homework (they were in their OWL and NEWT years, respectively) and he had said that the best place to clear your head was at the Shrieking Shack. Of course, she knew it had special meaning to him because of his parents, but she wanted to try it out anyway.

And she had plenty to think about. Firstly, there were boys. After her brief relationship with Daniel, it seemed all the boys in her year had suddenly taken an interest in her; even Hugo had looked surprised when she walked down that morning in a dress and, in his typical fashion, told her that she was prettier than he thought.

And then there was James... she had asked Al about it one time not that long ago. He had said that James was just like that, he wasn’t very good at showing what he really felt, and that of course he loved her and cared for her. But Lily wasn’t quite so convinced. She knew boys were terrible when it came to expressing their feelings – it wasn’t like Al was a master at that or anything – but if at least James would talk to her it would be something.

Being in this place made it hit Lily for the first time that Teddy had no parents. It crushed her the way a bulldozer crushes a forest. Yes, her parents annoyed her sometimes, but a life without them; unimaginable. Impossible. She knew that Teddy had his grandmother, and her Dad and Mum, and she would count him as a brother any day, but it still wasn’t the same. And how selfish was it of her to complain about her family? She had parents, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles – none of which Teddy had. He should have hated the world for what it had done to him, but he did the opposite. He loved the world.

She looked at the decrepit Shack again, feeling that she would leave it feeling more confused than when she came. With a sigh she turned around to return to her friends and came face to face with a figure dressed in black.

She tried to scream, but before the sound properly escaped her mouth, a piece of fabric was pushed roughly between her teeth.

James had only planned to go into Hogsmeade briefly that day; he had a pile of homework to do and, as Aunt Hermione kept reminding him, he really should start his revision. But surely a well-earned morning out with Violet and a necessary dash into Uncle George’s shop would be justified, right? He got up early to impress Violet (James had never found the need to get up early until he met her, but she protested that the morning was the best time of the day, so what choice did he have?). Seeing him up early, and therefore sparing her the uncomfortable experience of waking him, certainly put her in a good mood, and after a brief breakfast they went for a walk.

The morning passed pleasantly, and by the time they had wandered through most of the village it was nearing lunchtime, and James knew he really should be heading back to the castle. He dreaded the passing of each minute as it brought his pile of work ever closer.

Then he heard a scream.

He went into action immediately. He sent Violet to get help and ran in the direction the scream had come from. He reached the Shrieking Shack, which looked strangely eerie, and just by looking at the muddy ground he could see that there had been some form of struggle here. There was a whole mess of footprints in a small area, when the rest of the ground was barely touched. (After all, though James personally knew better, the Shack was still believed to be haunted, and therefore not a common meeting place for students).

He remembered that the scream had been cut off abruptly, so the person in need was probably unable to shout for help. Therefore announcing his presence would most likely result in him being caught unawares, just as the victim had. If only he’d had his Invisibility Cloak here...

Well, there was nothing for it, so he cast the strongest Disillusionment spell he could muster and crept around the clearing. He peered around bushes and trees, often casting a spell Aunt Hermione had mentioned called “Homonum Revelio�. Nothing happened, which could have been because he was performing it incorrectly, it didn’t work in large spaces or there were in fact no people there. Each time he discovered no-one, he became more and more anxious and began to wonder if he’d imagined the scream in the first place...

Violet came running towards him, Hagrid puffing behind her.

“I can’t anyone here,� he said, tearing at his hair in frustration. “Violet, what if I imagined this whole thing and nothing actually happened...?�

“James, you know you didn’t imagine it, and I heard the scream too, anyway. Is there no sign at all that someone was here?�

“Oh yeah, there’s a lot of footprints over there in a big mess. But they don’t lead anywhere... just disappear... wait – that’s it – they’ve obviously Apparated!�

He was only excited about this discovery momentarily – as Hagrid pointed out, the victim could be anywhere now.

“Isn’t there some way to track Apparition?� he asked, flailing for a lead.

“No. Only if yeh grab the person when they Apparate.�

The three of them stood in silence for a few moments, before eventually deciding that they should notify the school. James and Violet raced towards the castle to tell Headmaster Flitwick their story, while Hagrid went around the village to round up the students and take them back to the castle.

The fact that they now had something to do awoke adrenaline in their bodies, and James and Violet made it to the gargoyle outside the Headmaster’s office in record speed.

“Derwent,� James puffed the password Hagrid had given them, as Violet clutched her side. The gargoyle let them past and they leapt up the stairs two at a time, despite already feeling out of breath.

Professor Flitwick was usually a very cheerful Headmaster; James had never seen him look as worried as he did when they told him their news. It made him look old and frail. Flustered, he asked them as many questions as he could think of that might help, but to most of them the pair of Gryffindors had no response. When his list of questions ran out, he thanked James and Violet for their information and sent them back to Gryffindor Tower, assuring them anxiously that all possible would be done.

As they made their way to the tower, James and Violet got their story clearly in their heads; their late entry would make the other students clamour for information. But when they entered the common room, it was them who got a shock.

“Have you heard –?� Albus began, white-faced.

“Yes, I heard the scream, I tried to save whoever it was, but –�

“It’s Lily.�

“– I couldn’t get there – wait, what did you say?�

“Lily. She’s gone. She’s the one who’s been kidnapped.�

James felt like his heart stopped. His lungs collapsed. His body refused to function. His brain switched off.

And then suddenly he felt fire burning through his veins and he came back to life. Without another glance around the room, he Summoned his Invisibility Cloak, grabbed Albus by the hand and threw the Cloak over both of them. Then the two brothers dashed through the portrait hole.

Merlin, it was his sister, his sister, something needed to be done, now. He sent Al to the Owlery to notify his parents and Teddy, whilst he planned to tackle the professors. A dash past the staffroom confirmed that none of the teachers were there, so James sprinted to the Headmaster’s office.

Fortunately, Professor Nott, his least favourite teacher, was late and James could follow him into the Headmaster’s office – after all, he could hardly open the door and slip inside unnoticed, even though he was invisible.

“Thank Merlin you’re here, Theodore, we need to get started,� Professor Flitwick said in a voice even more high-pitched than normal. He explained everything that James and Violet had recounted less than an hour previously.

“Of course, from this recount, we are unable to deduce whether it was a student or other wizard that was abducted. However, according Hagrid, there was no sign of Lily Potter when he rounded up the students.�

“Merlin,� Professor Longbottom whispered, as the other teachers looked at each other in shock.

“Of course, the Ministry has been notified and the students are all in their common rooms.�

“And her parents?�

“Harry will find out at the Ministry, but do we really need to worry Ginny yet?�

Silence filled the room.

“It’s so much like the war...� Professor Creevey whispered.

“This is my sister we’re talking about... is anything going to be done?� James yelled, throwing the Invisibility Cloak off in fury.

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing and talk! Something has to be done! There must be some way we can find her... some spell or something, surely...�

All the teachers looked shocked and their facial expressions ranged between complete confusion and the desire to remind him that he was being disrespectful to teachers and had snuck into a secret meeting on top of that. All except for Professor Longbottom, who seemed to have entered a momentary state of reverie.

“James, I know it’s your sister, but you should be in your dormitory.�

“There’s nothing we can do, we will do everything we can.�

“But surely, surely there’s something we can do! I have to do something! I can’t just wait for her to be hurt...�

At that moment, a silvery stag darted through the door and paused in front of James.

“I’m on my way, Mum and Teddy will be there soon.�

His father’s message was followed by silence. Not even one of the teachers broke it to reprimand James’ presence.

Less than a minute later, another silvery form appeared through the door.

“Come and find her, if you dare. She is right under your noses. We fought there once, Potter. It is the place that ruined my life.�

The shape dissolved.

“Lestrange. Rabastan Lestrange,� said Professor Longbottom promptly. “I remember him.� He spoke bitterly; James had never heard him talk like that. “He fought in the Department of Mysteries. He was assumed dead after the Battle of Hogwarts – we never found him.�

“Well, it’s obvious isn’t it? We need to go to the Department of Mysteries and find her.�

“No James, at least wait until your father’s here...�

“Anyway, we don’t even know she’s there... he said right under our noses, she could be here.�

“The Ministry is alerted; if she is really there, which I doubt, they will find her.�

“James, I think it would be best if you return to your dormitory now. Once your father arrives, you and Albus will be summoned. Professor Longbottom, if you would escort Mr Potter back to Gryffindor Tower?�

“Of course, Headmaster.�

“In the mean time, the other professors will search the castle.�

James felt betrayed. But seemingly there was no use in staying there any longer against orders, so he excited the room dejectedly with Professor Longbottom.

They walked in silence, each immersed in their own thoughts.

“You know James, you reminded me of Harry just then. He too would have risked anything to save his friends.�

“Thanks, Professor,� James replied, blushing bright red. It was a rare pleasure to be compared to his father; he did have a lot to live up to.

“I hope she’s not in the Department of Mysteries. I haven’t been there since I was in fifth year, but Merlin was that a difficult place to find someone in. Hard to get to as well... useful that someone thought of Thestrals...�

James looked at his teacher oddly. Now seemed a strange time to reminisce about something that had happened years ago.

“Well, we’re nearly at the common room, I’m sure you can walk the last bit by yourself.�

Once again James was baffled.

“Err, okay, sir.� Professor Longbottom just smiled at him and – winked?

James was still muddled when he climbed through the portrait hole. He was still determined to go to the Ministry and rescue Lily, but Professor Longbottom’s behaviour had thoroughly confused him. Albus was waiting for him in the packed common room. James wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell Albus what he intended to do – his rule-abiding brother would either persuade him not to go or impulsively come with him. Albus was only a fifth-year and his magical ability was far beneath James’, yet on the other hand this was a family affair, and James would much rather have his little brother with him than any of his friends.

“Al, I want to save her,� he whispered.

“Yes, so do I, do you know anything?�

“The Department of Mysteries.�

“Are you sure? How do you know?�

“She’s been caught by Rabastan Lestrange – he sent a Patronus – Professor Longbottom recognised his voice. It said something about her being right under our noses and somewhere where he fought Dad.�

“Are you sure? I mean, she could be somewhere else...�

“Look, Al, I’m sure she’s there, you’re either with me or you’re not.�

“Okay, okay, relax James. So what’s the plan?�

“What plan?� interjected a new voice. It was Rose, one of Al’s friends and their cousin.

“Don’t worry about it, Rose, it’s not to do with you –�

“If it’s about Lily, which I’m certain it is, I’m coming.�

“But Rose –� said Albus.

“Is it ‘cos I’m a girl? I would have thought you’d have learnt more from your Mum!�

“No, we just don’t want to risk it...�

“I’m coming.� James and Albus looked at each other hopelessly and Rose grinned.

“So what’s the plan?�

“I don’t know. Professor Longbottom was being really weird on the way back from Flitwick’s office... he kept talking about the time him and Dad and Mum and your parents went to the Department of Mysteries... said something about Thestrals too.�

“Well it’s obvious, isn’t it? We travel to London by Thestral –�

“What’s this about Thestrals?� interrupted Violet.

“Not you too, Violet,� James said, his head in his hands.

“You’re planning to rescue her aren’t you?�

Al and Rose nodded.

“Well I have to say whoever came up with Thestrals – great idea – but none of you lot can see them, so you’ll need me.�

“Please, Violet, it’s a family thing, I don’t want you to be hurt...�

“If she can come –� she pointed at Rose “– I certainly can. I’m a seventh year, and as I said, I can see Thestrals.�

James nodded resignedly.

“Shall we go down to the Thestrals and talk more there... otherwise all of Gryffindor House will come with us,� he added exasperatedly as the others nodded.

“I suggest Al and Rose get under the Cloak now, then throw this Dungbomb over there and the two of us will Disillusion ourselves and slip out.� He passed them the Dungbomb, which the two took as they slipped under the Cloak.

The plan almost worked, but as the four ran lightly away from the Portrait hole, they heard footsteps behind them. They all stopped, pressed against a wall, hoping their follower would run on.

“James, I know you’re here, it’s only Louis and I’m coming with you.� Their cousin Louis appeared in the corridor and immediately James reversed his Disillusionment Charm.

“If you must,� he sighed.

Louis joined the other four and they headed towards the entrance to the castle. Fortunately they didn’t come across the caretaker and when they reached the front doors, they were unlocked (James wondered if Professor Longbottom might have had something to do with this), allowing the students to reach the Thestrals uninhibited.

Mounting an animal that they couldn’t see was no mean feat; it took a great deal of coaxing from Violet for most of them to even attempt it. Eventually, however, they all sat atop their Thestrals ready to leave. Each student told their Thestral their destination and, with a mountain sense of anticipation, flew up into the cloud-covered sky.

James found flying on the Thestral to be quite comfortable, once he got used to the idea of it being invisible. The animal shot through the air silkily, and he found it to be a lot less jerky than a broom.

The rest of the group weren’t necessarily faring so well: Rose was coping well enough – despite her absence from the Quidditch team, James knew her to be a decent flier from family games – Albus was turning pale as he stared determinedly straight ahead, seeming to pretend that he wasn’t several hundred feet in the air, and Louis was white, looking like he was barely holding back from throwing up. Only Violet seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself.

Moments later James heard a strange noise coming from Louis’ direction – his poor cousin hadn’t been able to hold it in any longer and was belching. James winced. He hoped some poor Muggle didn’t have a pile of spew landing on their head at that moment...

Thestrals travelled remarkably quickly – it was still well before sunset when they started their descent. The trip to London had been rather peaceful and had calmed them all down since the events at Hogwarts. It had also inadvertently alleviated a lot of their worry about Lily. As they neared their destination, however, James felt an iron fist clench his heart. Whether it was due to fear or worry for his little sister he didn’t know, but it served as an unpleasant reminder of what they were getting themselves into.

They landed gently. Louis was the first to jump off his Thestral.

“Never again,� he spluttered, white-faced, as he threw up thoroughly on the ground.

“You’ve offended him,� Violet mock-reprimanded, approaching the animal and stroking it. Louis glared at her.

They could think of no way to tie the Thestrals up without insulting the pride of the creatures, so left them by themselves, hoping that there would be some other means for five students to return to Hogwarts. They thought the Thestrals would be clever enough to get themselves back to the castles themselves – after all, they’d made it to London without any assistance at all.

“Me and Al and Rosie are gonna have to change our appearance a bit – we’re too recognisable. I’ll just make my hair brown and a bit longer, I’ll do the same for you Al and Rosie can have darker hair,� James explained, as he adeptly performed the spells silently.

“Alright, so we’ll say we’re going to the Auror office because one of our Dads called us here urgently...� James whispered hurriedly as they walked to the red telephone box.

The five of them crammed into it and when the cool voice asked their names and purpose, James gave his answer calmly. Soon each was wearing his own badge – though Albus nearly received a deep gash courtesy of the sharp point of Rosie’s pin. Fortunately, he was only left with a tiny scratch. It wasn’t entirely surprising, James thought; after all, this entrance was not designed for five people at once.

“Remember, you just have to seem natural in there... pretend we’re meant to be there,� James reminded them. “Oh, and I think someone should go under the Invisibility Cloak... just in case.�

This resulted in an argument which was still going full throttle when they reached the Atrium, as each person explained why they should go under the cloak, but in the end it was decided that Violet should wear it, as she was the best at non-verbal spells of all of them, and could therefore easily sneak up on Lily’s captor and handicap them. Secretly James hoped that she would be safer that way too. It wasn’t that he didn’t want his brother and cousins to be unsafe, but somehow he felt more responsible for Violet than for them.

They strolled across to the lifts at a leisurely pace, and when a Ministry official kindly asked them why they weren’t at school, it was Rose who piped up in a sweet voice and presented their excuse flawlessly.

Without further interruptions, they entered the lift. Fortunately it was empty, but for the flying parchment memos. Each time the lift stopped, the palpable tension increased amongst the group. This was for two reasons – firstly, they could hardly explain away a visit to the Auror office when they were already several floors below it, and secondly, their heightened anticipation at being so close to saving Lily.

Finally they reached the corridor which led to the Department of Mysteries. Their footsteps echoed loudly as they approached the mysterious door. They slowly drew their wands out, preparing for whatever terror may face them when they opened the door. The breath constricted in James’ chest as he tentatively reached out a hand and grasped the doorknob.

The door was locked.

They had not considered this option – they had been prepared to face their worst fears, not this emptiness of doing nothing.

They assaulted the door with all sorts of spells, but it remained impervious to their efforts. It mocked them, told them that they were stupid to think a mere bunch of school students could even touch it.

In desperation to find something to do, Rose decided to have a look around the court rooms, just in case there was any sort of hint as to where Lily might be.

Moments after her footsteps disappeared, they heard a scream. The four of them ran immediately towards the giant oaken doors of the courtroom (that is, James, Albus and Louis did so visibly – presumably Violet followed them).

James crept through the door, the others following him closely. His eyes immediately focussed on a chair which sat in the middle of the room, the soul item in an otherwise barren chamber. A figure was chained to the chair, and with a shock he recognised the dark red hair to be Lily’s. The chains snaked over her body, jutting into her arms deeply and drawing blood. Her hair was in a tangled mess and her school robes, new only months before, were torn and fraying as though she had scrambled through a thorn bush. Her head lolled to one side almost lifelessly.

Rose lay on the ground only a few feet in front of him, obviously Stunned.

It had taken James only a few moments to take in his surroundings, yet in that time two figures dressed entirely in black had suddenly appeared in front of him, as if out of thin air.

James didn’t even think before firing a volley of spells at both the men, however they were faster – with a thud Louis lay on the ground next to Albus. James didn’t have time to think about it; one of the wands was already pointing in his direction.

“Stupey!�

“Expelliarmus!�

“Petrificus Totalis!

The sound of cried spells rang in the air. James and Albus were now fighting side by side and tiring visibly – they were only barely able to block the spells coming from the far stronger men, let alone attack.

Where was Violet? Only she would be able to take either man out...

Inevitably, only minutes later the brothers were on the verge of collapsing and their attackers took this opportunity to tie them up with ropes. Neither was in any fit state to protest.

“James Potter,� one of the men said. “And Albus, too.�

Revenge dripped off each word. He spoke with the same voice that the Patronus had – so this was Rabastan Lestrange.

“I can’t wait to see the look on your father’s face when I kill each of his children one – by – one.� There was no joke in his tone, and James felt certain that this man would follow through with his threat, given the opportunity.

“But first, you can watch her being tortured.�

Where was Violet?

As if he had called her by his thought, James felt the warm presence of her invisible body beside him. She was quietly sawing away at his bonds with a small penknife.

Lestrange was aiming his wand at Lily – little baby Lily. James felt his body tense up. Violet only had one more rope to cut... come on Violet, he thought... and suddenly he was running towards Lily’s unconscious form. Lestrange didn’t have time to change his spell, and just as he fired a red jet of light, James arrived in front of Lily and intercepted the spell in the middle of his chest.

Then there was pain.

And then suddenly it ended. He realised that he was on the ground. As he stood up, every muscle and limb protested, but he had to get to Lily. He didn’t even notice that no-one was firing spells at him anymore or that the two Death Eaters lay Stunned on the ground. It didn’t matter.

She was unconscious, and the chains still held her locked in place. Seeing her wounds so close up made his wand arm waver as he reached out to release her. He forced himself to concentrate; he would need to cast several Severing Charms, and if he missed but just a degree... he didn’t want to think about it.

A warm hand appeared on his back. He turned around in shock, wand raised, but it was only Violet.

“I Stunned Lestrange, Albus got the other one but then he seemed to faint... I’m sorry it was late, I know the plan was that I could take them out because I was invisible, but I hadn’t expected two of them and I, well, I didn’t want them to know where I was, and if they just saw spells coming from nowhere they might have tracked me, and I didn’t – oh I’m sorry, James, I should have –�

“Relax, Violet, it doesn’t matter – just help me get Lily out, please.�

Eventually she was freed, and with one motion James scooped his sister into his arms. He looked around the court room properly for the first time. Rows and rows of benches rose up to a high ceiling, which lorded over the floor upon which they had been fighting. The Death Eaters lay in a crumpled heap of black over to one side, Louis and Rose also both lay on the ground, Stunned, though seemingly in fine condition. Albus lay near the Death Eaters and he was so pale that he almost looked deathly.

Even Violet, though still on her feet, looked the worse for wear. She had sustained a few minor scratches, but it was her exhaustion that really showed her condition.

“You alright?� he asked awkwardly.

“Yeah, I’ll be right. You go look after Lily, we’ll manage fine.�

“Okay. Wake Louis and Rosie – they’ve only been Stunned – and you might have to carry Albus, he looks like he’s fainted. Then go up to the Auror Office and tell them what happened. Bind Lestrange and the other guy. I’ll take her to St. Mungo’s,� he said. Violet nodded.

James slipped under the Invisibility Cloak with Lily and hurried to the lift to get to the Atrium – the only place you could Apparate from in the Ministry. He mustered all his determination, deliberation and whatever the other ‘D’ word was and turned on the spot.

He knew something was wrong as soon as he reached the dummy at the entrance to the hospital. Anxiously he checked Lily over, and it was only when he determined that she was fine that he even noticed the pain coming from his left hand. He brought it up to his face from under Lily’s body and saw a bloody stump where his finger should have continued. He stuffed it in his school shirt to decrease the blood flow and took Lily inside.

He had only been to St. Mungo’s a few times, to see his father after some particularly dangerous mission, so he wasn’t completely sure how the system worked. Thus, it was with some trepidation that he joined the long queue in front of the main desk. He was just nearing the front of the queue, wondering how on earth he would explain what had happened to Lily to the Welcome Witch, when a Healer happened to walk past who seemed to recognise him. James realised that his hair had now reverted to its normal length and colour – obviously his Transfiguration spells had been rushed and not particularly strong – which did make him very recognisable.

“Mr Potter, my name is Healer Patil. Can I do something for your sister?�

He looked at her quizzically. She looked slightly familiar, and her name rang a bell, as though he had read about her in a book when he was a child.

“I went to school with your father.� Now he remembered.

“Lily’s been attacked by a Death Eater,� he blurted out straightaway. “I don’t know what happened – she needs help.�

“A Death Eater? Merlin, the war finished more than twenty years ago!� she exclaimed.

“Alright, follow me then.� James almost had to run to keep up with her swift steps as she took them to a ward. James paid little attention to his surroundings, and was relieved when they finally entered a room. He gently laid Lily down on one of the beds, and refused to let Healer Patil tend to his finger until he was certain that she’d done everything possible for Lily. Eventually she passed him a bowl to soak his half finger in and as he settled into the chair at Lily’s bedside, he couldn’t resist the urges of sleep.

~

She woke up, disorientated, with the feeling that she’d had a terrible nightmare, which she couldn’t remember. Her surroundings were completely unfamiliar. For a moment the beds and white sheets made her think of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, but that wasn’t quite right.

Suddenly she made a connection. She remembered visiting Dad in a place like this after a particularly dangerous mission. St. Mungo’s – that was it. Everything came back to her instantly, and one thought stood out from all the others.

She had been saved.

Then she looked to her left and saw familiar black hair. Dad had – but wait, that wasn’t Dad. There were already grey streaks in his hair, and this person’s hair was pure black. And anyway, this person was skinnier than Dad.

“James?� she whispered, surprised. He woke up.

“Lily, you’re awake! Oh I’m sorry I slept, I wanted to stay awake til you woke...�

“Don’t worry James. You saved me.� She tried to smile, but it was difficult. Her body hurt, she could almost feel the chains still pressing into her, and she had a splitting headache.

“What’s wrong, Lily?� he asked, obviously noticing her discomfort.

“It’s nothing.�

“No, it’s not, are you in pain or something? Can I do anything?� James really could be a sweetie.

“I – no, well, everything just hurts. I – I don’t want to think about what happened.�

“Oh Merlin, d-did they torture you?�

She couldn’t lie to him, not when he asked her so directly, and with so much care. She nodded.

“Oh Merlin, I’m sorry, we should’ve got there earlier.�

“Don’t worry. I’ll be okay, alright? It – it wasn’t for that long. I – well, it, he used that spell, but not for long.�

“I understand what it feels like.�

“How can you? No-one’s every tortured you.� Lily felt rage burst inside her, that he thought he could understand her, it was ridiculous.

“Lestrange was going to torture you in front of me. I – I couldn’t let it happen. I intercepted the spell.� He said it calmly, as if he hadn’t noticed her rising anger.

“Oh Merlin, James, I’m sorry.�

He smiled and gently hugged her, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “It doesn’t matter.�

“Lily! Oh, thank Merlin you’re well!� her father exclaimed. As he walked in, the lines of stress and anxiety fade from his face visibly. Following him were Albus, Rose and Louis, all of whom immediately rushed to Lily’s bedside and almost smothered her in hugs and kisses. James had to remind them playfully that they didn’t want to accidentally kill her by smothering her with attention, when she had just survived a kidnapping. When his Dad came to him, James could see the pride in his eyes, and he embraced his father – something he hadn’t done for years. Well, at least not in public.

A figure standing in the doorway awkwardly caught his eye. It was Violet.

“Come in, Violet,� he smiled.

“I thought I’d just leave it to be the family... it’s probably best if I leave... yes I’ll just be going, see you later.�

“Hey, don’t say that, you know we don’t mind that you’re not family,� he said as he walked towards her.

She smiled tentatively as he reached out and took her hand. James felt a surge of love for Violet and suddenly pulled her into a hug. This girl had risked her safety – possibly her life – for a girl she hardly knew.

“Thank you, Violet,� he whispered into her hair. “For saving Lily with me.�

“I did it for you,� she whispered back. He smiled.

Harry, having noticed James’ absence from Lily’s bedside, turned to the door and smiled as he watched his son and his girlfriend. Violet had worked miracles for James who, like his father (as Ginny would say), wasn’t the best at understanding girls. He’d tried a few times, but nothing had really taken off until he met Violet. Well, everyone makes mistakes, Harry thought, remembering Cho Chang with a smile.

“LILY!� Ginny ran inside, tears pouring down her face, and no-one would have dared to get in her way, not least Harry. He had been on the wrong side an emotional Ginny once or twice, and it hadn’t been much of a pleasant experience.

Teddy appeared at the door behind her, a smile on his face, and Ron charged past him to get to his daughter. Rose looked frightened for a moment that she was about to receive a severe telling-off from her father (a rare event as it was, usually her mother was responsible for discipline). She was certainly relieved, though winded, when he hugged her fiercely.

Once everyone had finished hugging each other tearfully, and Louis had been reassured that his parents knew he was safe and would be here soon, they sat in comfortable silence.

The silence lasted for about all of a minute; this was the Potter family after all, and silences, however comfortable, were rare.

“So what happened to you, Lily? Where did they take you?�

“I’d been at the Shrieking Shack and this figure came and grabbed me and stuck this uncomfortable piece of fabric my mouth so I couldn’t scream and Apparated to just outside the Ministry. I was putting up a struggle, so he Stunned me. I don’t know how we got down to the courtrooms. I woke there, as they were tying me up in that chair. I – it hurt. I thought they were trying to squeeze me to death. The chains were so tight, I could hardly breathe. Of course, they’d taken my wand. And –�

“– oh, I forgot to say before, I got your wand out of one of those Death Eater’s robes, here it is,� Louis interrupted, as he handed her the wand. She smiled.

“Thanks. And, well, what was I saying... I-I think I’ve said everything I remember.�

She looked at James significantly – only he knew that more had happened to her. She wasn’t ready to tell everyone, not so many people at once, not so soon after it happened... She knew he’d understand, and she knew she could trust him with it.

“So how did you find me, anyway?� Lily asked, breaking the awkward silence. James took his opportunity to distract the others from Lily’s suspiciously short and unemotional story and to lighten the mood.

“So me and Violet –�

“Violet and I, James, get your grammar right –�

“Alright, Violet and I were walking in Hogsmeade when we heard a scream, so I went running after it and sent Violet to get help –�

“Excuse me, you didn’t send me, I went quite willingly.�

“Okay, well, Violet willingly went to get help and came back with Hagrid...�

After five minutes, they had only got up to the staff meeting at Hogwarts when Harry’s Patronus had arrived, as all the students continuously interrupted each other.

“Now James, I know you want to tell all the details, but is now really the time?�

“Please, Dad, I don’t mind, I want to hear all of it,� Lily begged. Harry sighed as he nodded. At least they had nowhere urgent to be...

“Okay, well all the professors were determined not to go anywhere... they wanted to stay at Hogwarts, which was annoying, I guess that’s why you got caught up, right Dad?�

“No, actually, Neville – Professor Longbottom – let me know by Patronus that he expected at least you and Albus would be going to the Department of Mysteries. He cleared your way out of Hogwarts – after all, he thought you would find a way out either way, and it would be easier for everyone if there were no disruptions. So I came here immediately, but I got caught up in the Atrium. It seems that Lestrange Imperiused an innocent witch named Wilfrida Jenkins and she caused me a bit of strife. I could hardly start a full-blown attack on her in full view of everyone... Especially on someone innocent.�

James smiled at the thought of his father ‘starting a full-blown attack’, as he put it, and continued with his story. After at least another fifteen minutes, he finally finished.

“So, Dad, do you know who the other Death Eater was?�

“Yes, it was Avery. He and Lestrange went to school with my parents, and both fought in the Department of Mysteries last time. I’m not quite sure how, but they managed to slip under Voldemort’s radar, because neither of them were at the Battle of Hogwarts. It seems that they were probably quite scared of their master and preferred to commit a crime much later which they somehow thought they’d get away with...�

“But they didn’t. They’re in Azkaban now, aren’t they Dad?� Lily asked.

“Not yet, but they’ll probably go once they’ve been tried.� Harry sighed. He was just about as fond of Dementors as Dumbledore had been.

After a short silence, they started chatting about far less dark things. After all, the students hadn’t seen their parents since Christmas, and that had been a good two months ago. As Lily listened, now too tired to participate in the conversation, she concluded that family really was something special, and that James was no exception to that. He probably wouldn’t ever be great at showing that he cared, and there would surely be times when she would feel unloved, but after this experience she would always have something to go back to. Family loved unconditionally. That’s just how it was.

Perhaps she would never understand her brothers, after all, they were strange creatures, but she was glad she had them. Without James and Al, goodness knows where she would be now. She wouldn’t be the same Lily Potter, she wouldn’t have played the same games as a child, she wouldn’t have had anyone who could take care of her so well, who could be sweetly overprotective... and she wouldn’t have anyone to help her cope with those memories.

She knew it was clichéd – but then clichés only existed because they were universal experiences, common to the whole of humanity. Although, to be honest, she didn’t really care whether being clichéd was good or bad or just plain silly.

All she knew is that she wouldn’t want to change a thing.