When Harry had told Millie to prepare herself for people to talk, James and Lily had gotten the impression that he knew what he was talking about. But when they saw the extent of what happened, they realized that there had been no way for Millie to prepare for what came. The morning after the escape and less than two minutes after the morning post, the whole school had seemed to be straining their necks in order to look at Millie over at the Gryffindor table.
Looking around her, Lily had quickly snatched a copy of the Daily Prophet from a second year student. She had disregarded Millie’s scowling, and instead held out the newspaper for her and Millie to read. The escape had been head news, filling the entire first page as well as several other pages inside the paper. The details of the escape had seemed to be very few, so instead the paper had been filled with rapports of Draco’s life and relations.
At least one of the articles had been entirely devoted to Millie, containing detailed information about the twists and turns of her ending up with the Potters. Looking at some of the information in the article it seemed the Daily Prophet’s reporter had some source of information from within the Ministry of Magic. Detailed extracts from custody hearings that were supposed to be kept from the public had now been printed for everyone to read. The reporter had also made sure to point out that Malfoy’s escape may very well be due to the fact that his mother had not been able to get custody of his daughter.
James and Lily had been surprised to realize that Harry had been forced to go to trial not once but twice in order to get full guardianship of Millie. They had thought that the only hearing had been when Draco was sent to Azkaban, but the Daily Prophet’s extracts made it clear that Narcissa Malfoy had fought harder than that. Four years after the first hearing, Harry had been forced to once again go to court over Millie. They had shuddered when they considered the possibility of Millie being taken from her family and handed over to Mrs Malfoy. Daily Prophet however had seemed to regret the outcome of the trial, and had made it perfectly clear to it’s readers that the students at Hogwarts were now all in danger because of Millie.
After reading the article Lily had thrown back the paper at the table with disgust. “Idiots! What do they know!” she had exclaimed angrily, but somehow Millie hadn’t seemed as convinced that they were mistaken as her sister had. She had stayed quiet, and looked down on her feet rather than face the scrutinizing looks from her fellow students.
The rest of the day had basically followed the same pattern. Everywhere Millie went people had lowered their voices in whispers, or grown quiet and just stared at her. Everyone had seemed to have read the article and many had seemed to believe that what the paper had said about her being a safety hazard for the entire school. Manning hadn’t wasted a second before she started pestering Millie about the content of the article. She had made sure that everyone knew what a great risk Millie’s company was, and spent Potions lesson whispering insults to Millie. Something Snape had chosen to ignore.
Still, no matter how bad the first day had seemed, it had been only a small taste of what was to come. It had only taken a few days before the school had been parted in two. Those who looked at Millie with pity and those who looked at her with fear. Even within Gryffindor there had been conflicts. Already on the first day a few of the younger students had started acting strange around Millie. Three days later those students had actually got up and left when Millie entered the common room. That however had been too much for Lily to handle.
“HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELVES GRYFFINORS!” she had shouted. “YOU’RE NOTHING BUT TRAITORS AND COWARDS! MILLIE HAS ALWAYS STOOD UP FOR YOU, AND NOW YOU FAIL HER! SLYTHERINS! THE BUNCH OF YOU!”
Some of the second year girls had tried to defend themselves but they soon had regretted doing so. If Lily had been angry and shouting before, she had now grown completely calm, her eyes nailing them to the spot where they stood. When she had opened her mouth she had no longer been shouting, instead her voice had reached the low trembling growl she only used when she was absolutely furious.
“Vesta, was it not Millie that helped you with your charms homework when you almost failed? Did you think her a danger then?” she had hissed. The girl she was directing hadn’t answered. Instead she had stared down at the floor, her lower lip trembling as she had tried to keep from crying. Lily however had kept staring at her quietly until she finally had shaken her head.
“Rhea,” Lily had then gone on turning to the girl next to Vesta. The blond girl had looked as if she would start crying just by having Lily look at her. “Did you have a problem with Millie when she helped you to the hospital wing when you fell off your broom two weeks ago?” The girl had shaken her head.
“Did any of you have a problem with Millie when she helped win the match against Slytherin at Halloween? Or when she helped us win the Quidditch cup last year and thereby the house cup? Or when you all congratulated her for becoming prefect at the beginning of term?” Several more people, both boys and girls, had now shaken there heads and the girl named Vesta had by this time lost the battle against her tears and had cried into Rhea’s shoulder. “Cowards!” Lily had once again repeated as she had pushed her way past them and ascended the stairs to the girls dormitory.
After that day most Gryffindors had either been convinced that Millie belonged where she was or too afraid to say otherwise. What ever they thought however no one had dared to speak out against her or leave when she arrived again, at least not when Lily was present. Some of the girls in second year had tried once when Lily wasn’t there, but the look they had received from Sirius had been enough to silence them. James and Lily had so far never seen him upset or angry, but something in the way he had looked at his classmates had told them that you did not want to be around if he ever did loose his temper.
Things had been almost as bad for Harry as for Millie. Not only had he had Millie’s safety and the newspaper articles to think about, but far too soon Harry had found himself fighting the Ministry of Magical Law Enforcement as well.
Seeing the speed with which Harry’s former Auror colleagues offered their help and assistance, this had come as a shock to James and Lily. The problem however had not lay with the Aurors, who all had been more than willing to help, but with the Minister, who to James and Lily’s surprise had turned out to be Harry’s brother-in-law Percy. He had showed up at Hogwarts in the company of two Aurors for a meeting with Harry and Professor McGonagall two days after the escape, seeming rather reluctant to be there in the first place.
“Professor, Harry, how nice to see you,” he had started formally but with a tone of voice that had told James and Lily exactly what he thought of the meeting. Looking at the pretentious expression on his face and the haughty manner in which he had entered the room James and Lily had quickly known there had been no way for this to go well.
“Mr Weasley, welcome,” had Professor McGonagall answered beckoning him to sit down in a chair in front of her desk. Percy had refused.
“There will be no need for that Professor; I do not plan on staying long,” he had said plainly. “I’m sure you both can understand that I have more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.”
“Actually Mr Weasley I do not understand. I am rather surprised that you did not come here sooner. Given the situation, I think protecting Hogwarts from Mr Malfoy would be the first priority on your list,” Professor McGonagall had stated just as plainly. “That is what this meeting is for, is it not? Deciding on the proper measures to protect Hogwarts and its students, not to mention discussing how to capture Mr Malfoy once he arrives.”
“Professor if that is the purpose of this meeting then it is quite redundant and you are wasting my time. Mr Malfoy will not be coming to Hogwarts. I can assure you, Mr Malfoy will not be stupid enough to show himself here.” Percy had declared.
“I seem to remember Fudge telling me that exact same thing once. I also remember that he was wrong!” Harry had snorted sarcastically, shocking both James and Lily with the idea that there had been escapes from Azkaban in the past, and that one or even more fugitives had actually been given the opportunity to get to Hogwarts.
“That was a completely different situation! This time I can guarantee that we are on top of the situation. There is absolutely nothing that we do not know about Mr Malfoy…”
“Except for how he escaped, where he is or what he’s planning,” Harry had inserted sardonically. Percy had pretended not to hear, and had continued to speak with an air of importance around him.
“We have made extensive profiles on Mr Malfoy, predicted his every possible move…”
“Funny you didn’t stop him from escaping then,” Harry had mocked. This time Percy had not been able to stop himself from frowning at the comment.
“As I said,” he had said clearly annoyed. “We have predicted Mr Malfoy’s every possible move. There is simply not enough incentive for him to come to Hogwarts. His past behaviour shows clearly that Mr Malfoy puts his own safety first…”
“His past behaviour was based on the fact that his daughter was safe with his mother! That is hardly the situation now!” Harry had snapped. “There’s your incentive! Or did you not put Millie in your equation?”
“Of course we did!” Percy had snapped back, thrown of course for a moment. “But then I always did tell you the foolishness in taking on a Malfoy child! Just look at the papers they are having a field day with this. How do you think that affects the rest of the family, our lives and careers? But then you never did consider that, did you? You made your decision without consulting any of us, didn’t you?”
“It was my decision! Mine and Ginny’s! A decision I do not regret and one that I would happily make again. And if you think for a second that I would take your career into consideration when deciding upon the future of my family then you are sadly mistaken!” Harry had retorted angrily. Percy had stared at Harry for a moment, but before he had the chance to speak again, Professor McGonagall had spoken up, bringing both men back to the present situation.
“Give it up, the both of you! There are more pressing matters at hand here than old family decisions,” she had snapped eyeing both men carefully before she had continued talking. “The past is the past, let it stay that way. Now like it or not Mr Weasley, the fact is that Millie has been raised by Harry the past 10 years. Regardless of what your opinion on matter is, this fact must be taken into consideration when predicting Mr Malfoy’s future movements.”
Taking several deep breaths, Percy had seemed to collect himself again. “I promise you Professor, that the situation with Miss Malfoy has been taken into consideration,” he then had answered.
“Have you then also taken into consideration the fact that Mr Malfoy may have more reasons for coming to Hogwarts than retrieving his daughter? Like taking revenge on those who caused him to loose her and his freedom?” Professor McGonagall had then calmly asked, causing Lily to wonder who else Draco might be out to take revenge on besides Harry. She had glanced at James, but he hadn’t seemed to notice what Professor McGonagall had said.
“Of course we have considered that risk!” Percy had asserted sounding disgruntled by the question. “That does not, however, change our opinion that Mr Malfoy will choose to flee rather than risk staying in the country.”
“Oh, really? Will he? When the persons he wants most are here? Or have you forgotten the look in his face when he swore he’d kill me and get Millie back at his trial, just before he was sent to Azkaban,” Harry had snarled irritably.
“Of course I have not forgotten!” Percy had retorted. “And I am not denying that even with a very low risk like this, precautions must be taken to ensure peoples’ safety. Hence I yesterday ordered to put two Aurors at Ginny’s workplace to protect her. I would also gladly put an Auror in your house if I thought it necessary and I fully intend to put Dementors at Hogwarts. If…” he hadn’t even been allowed to finish the sentence because at the mere mentioning of Dementors both Harry and Professor McGonagall had gone berserk, standing up from their chairs and telling him in no uncertain terms that he would do no such thing.
“How can you even suggest such a thing? Mr Weasley, you know very well what happened last time we had Dementors running around this school!” Professor McGonagall had reminded him. “I am sorry but as Headmistress of this school I simply cannot allow it!”
“Professor, I can inform you that we have much better control of the Dementors…”
“There is no such thing as controlling Dementors! And you will not put them at Hogwarts! We need people, Percy, people that can think, that actually have a chance of capturing him! That means Aurors, Percy! Nothing else!” Harry had declared.
“As I already stated that would be unnecessary. As I have tried to explain the profile we have on Mr Malfoy clearly shows that he will try and save himself first, meaning he will not take the risk of coming here at all. He will not risk getting caught!” Percy stated very matter-of-factly.
“He’ll be rather safe from capture if there’s no Aurors at Hogwarts to do the catching!” Harry snapped angrily.
“I thought as a former Auror it would be possible to reason with you. I see now that I was clearly mistaken!” Percy had snapped back. “I see now that you are too clouded by your affections for Miss Malfoy to think rationally…”
“Do not bring use my feelings for my daughter as an excuse not to take the proper measures to ensure her safety!” Harry had retorted heatedly.
“I think it is about time you realize that she is not your daughter, Harry. There was a reason why the Ministry didn’t let you adopt her,” Percy had interrupted quickly, causing Harry to become even angrier.
“Yes there was, and I remember you having a lot to do with that!” Harry had snarled clearly close to loosing control of his temper.
“I think Professor McGonagall made an excellent point about not discussing the past right now,” Percy had responded. “Besides this is my decision to make as Minister of Magical Law Enforcement! Not yours! I will put Dementors at Hogwarts if I see fit!” Percy had said with a smug smile on his face.
That had been when Harry finally lost his patience. “If you insist on putting Dementors at Hogwarts, I will go directly to the Minister of Magic herself and have her overrule you! You know she will if I ask her to,” he had spat.
James and Lily had seen Percy insulted and angry before, but they had previously not seen the rather nasty and very petty side of him that had emerged when he was beaten. With his face white with fury he had stated that if Hogwarts did not want his help, then no help would be given. With that he had refused to lend even a single Auror to Hogwarts since, as he had said, “their resources were needed elsewhere in the pursuit of Mr Malfoy.”
James had snorted in disgust and Lily had shuddered when she thought that this was the man who was supposed to help keep Millie safe. Harry had been furious. He had completely lost control and had accused Percy of wanting Millie to be kidnapped by Draco. He had then proceeded to letting Percy know exactly what a git he thought he was by calling him things that even made James flinch. It had not been a good method of making Percy change his mind.
With his nose up in the air, and an insulted look on his face, he had refused to stay any longer in spite of Professor McGonagall attempts to calm him down. Percy had only snorted at her tries and had told her in a very huffy tone of voice that he would not tolerate being insulted by anyone, and that he felt it a pity that she had decided to hire someone so “hot headed and instable” as a teacher. He had then turned and headed out of the office. When he had left and the door had been closed behind him, the two Aurors who had arrived with him, had turned to Harry with looks of sympathy on their faces.
One of the men, a rather large black man, had patted Harry on the shoulder and promised that he would at least try to place a couple of Aurors in Hogsmeade, or if that wouldn’t work, as close to Hogwarts as possible.
“I can’t get them closer I’m afraid, not under these circumstances, but I will get them as close as possible “ that I promise!” the man Harry called Kingsley had said. Harry had nodded and thanked him before both Aurors were forced to leave. Both had left giving their assurances that no Aurors would rest until Malfoy was caught, but somehow James and Lily had found themselves wondering how that could help if they weren’t allowed at Hogwarts.
That had been almost two weeks ago now. Since then winter had arrived at Hogwarts with dark clouds covering the skies as the November snow kept falling as December crept closer. During the two weeks since the escape no progress seemed to have been made in the search for Draco. A fact that James and Lily hardly found surprising, even though they did find it both disturbing and disappointing.
What they had found surprising had been Ginny’s reaction to the news of her brother’s actions. Both James and Lily had expected her to be upset and angry but they had been surprised to see her quite that enraged.
“I WILL TEAR HIM TO PIECES! IF HE THINKS THAT HE CAN LEAVE MY DAUGHTER COMPLETELY WITHOUT PROTECTION THEN HE HAS ANOTHER THING COMING!” she had shouted. Less than two seconds later, she had been over at the fireplace reaching for the floo-powder. Harry had grabbed her just in time to stop her from going.
“Ginny, there is no point…”
“LET GO HARRY! I WILL CURSE THAT SORRY LITTLE EXCUSE FOR A WIZARD SO HARD HE WILL BEG TO PUT AURORS AT HOGWARTS!” she had screamed, while trying to get out of Harry’s grip. Looking at her, James had quickly drawn the conclusion that he would not want to be at the receiving end of her wand if her anger was ever directed at him
“And accomplish what, Ginny? Get him to remove the protection of you as well?” Harry had pleaded. “Please try and think clear. Percy is a stubborn git, there is no way he’ll give in if you threaten him!” Harry had tried to reason. Ginny however had been beyond reason.
“WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THREATENING HIM? I’M GOING TO HEX HIM INTO OBLIVION! THEN AT LEAST WE DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT HIM ANYMORE!” she yelled turning towards Harry.
“And you will spend the rest of your life in Azkaban! Ginny, you know you’re not going to do that! Please, I beg you, do not submit yourself to the agony of confronting him,” Harry had pleaded, still holding on to her till she finally calmed down a bit. She had still been angry, and for the rest of the evening she had kept swearing over her brother, promising to never ever speak to him again as long as she lived.
Later that evening Harry and Ginny had taken the time to explain to Christopher what was going on and how that affected him. Christopher hadn’t been particularly happy to hear that he wasn’t allowed to go outside of the yard without at least one of his parents being present any more, but Harry and Ginny had patiently explained about Draco and about why it was important that he obeyed. It had been then that James and Lily first understood how well protected the Potter residence still was. It seemed that most of the spells and charms that had been cast during the war in order to protect the house were still in place, probably making the Potter house one of the safest places to be at this time.
For Christopher however that information had not made him feel better. Especially when he realized that this meant that he wasn’t allowed to go and visit Kevin when ever he wanted anymore
“But that’s not fair!” he had complained loudly.
“Christopher, it is for your own safety,” Ginny had started.
“The man that escaped wouldn’t think twice to hurt you in order to get to me, Christopher;” Harry had continued.
“He is very dangerous,” Ginny had added.
“And you wouldn’t want him to hurt Kevin or his family just to get to you, now would you?” Harry had asked.
“No, but…” Christopher had begun with a dull voice. He had however not even bothered to continue. He had known it was no use, and he had seemed to realize the danger even if he had not seemed willing to accept it.
“Kevin is welcome here anytime he wants, you know that!” Ginny had comforted him.
“And you will still see him during the days,” Harry had added. At this Christopher had quickly looked up at him in surprise.
“But how, dad? If I can’t leave the house how will I…” he had begun.
“Seriously Christopher!” Ginny had interrupted. “You’ll still have your classes every day. It will just have to be here instead. I’ve already spoken to your grandmother and the Creevys. From tomorrow morning she will come here to school you and Kevin. You didn’t think we were going to let your education suffer for this, did you?” she had asked furtively.
For a moment Christopher had looked as if he couldn’t decide if this was good news, bad news or neither. Scratching the back of his head he had finally managed to press out a. “I dunno,” to answer his mother’s question, causing both Lily and Ginny to smile lovingly at him.
Eventually, after once again checking that he would still be able to see Kevin every day, Christopher had, to his parents’ relief, reluctantly agreed not to go outside the yard without their company.
Lily had not been as easy to persuade. She had been raging when Harry had told her that she had to follow the same restrictions as Millie, including not being allowed to go to Hogsmeade. With a Hogsmeade visit coming up in only a few weeks that had seemed to vex her the most. Lily had tried everything to get her way, but neither begging nor ranting and raving had given any results. Harry had stood firm by his decision and there had really not been anything Lily could do to change his mind.
The restrictions were not the main reason why her mood had taken a turn for the worse since the escape, but they certainly didn’t improve matters either. And since Millie insisted on not breaking a single rule or restriction Lily didn’t even have the fun of sneaking out after curfew anymore. She was undoubtedly growing very bored.
This evening she was lying across one of the chairs in the common room, staring at the ceiling while charming a crystal ball to hover above her, bouncing it up and down with her wand.
“You’re going to drop that,” Millie said absent-mindedly as she commanded her pawn to move forward. Eddy frowned when he watched the move and suddenly realized that he was in a pretty awkward position.
“No I’m not,” Lily answered dully before she with a quick glance at the board told Eddy to move his bishop if he did not want it taken by Millie’s next move.
“How can you tell that from barely looking at the board, upside down no less?” Eddy asked hesitantly.
”Because my sister is the most predictable chess-player in the world, and right now she’s got you locked in between her pawn, her knight and her bishop. If you had any skill at chess you’d know that there is no way for you to save both your bishop and your knight, but that your bishop is more important at this time, because you already lost the other bishop three moves ago. It’s all really simple,” Lily answered without even so much as glancing at the board.
James however did, only to realize that Lily had been absolutely right. Eddy who also had studied the board seemed to come to the same conclusion. Quickly he moved his bishop out of harms way and watched as Millie commanded her knight in to take his.
“I am not a predictable chess player, you know,” Millie said slightly annoyed after making her move, causing both Lily and Sirius to snigger. Amusingly enough so did Millie’s chess set, her king actually folding double with laughter.
“Did you hear that! Not a predictable player;” one of the pawns snorted.
“If she does not tell me to stand on C5 within the next five moves I’ll eat my hat,” added one of the bishops haughtily causing both chess sets to roar with laughter. “Don’t laugh!” the now offended bishop shouted. “I’m sick and tired of C5, she always sacrifices me there!”
“Oh, shut it! You certainly weren’t complaining two minutes ago!” Millie snapped at the set. “And I really can’t see that you would be in any position to criticize anyone, Lil. It’s not like you’re very good at it!”
“As if I would ever want to be good at something that boring,” Lily said sardonically, still without letting her eyes leave the hovering orb above her head. “Besides, I didn’t say you were bad, just that you were predictable “ it’s not necessarily the same thing.”
“Really? Could have fooled me,” sniggered Sirius, sitting curled up in a chair with his transfiguration homework.
“Just because you’re better than anyone in the room, doesn’t mean that the rest of us are horrible,” Eddy answered annoyed as he scowled at the new trap Millie had set for him “ her bishop commanded to C5 two moves ago. Looked like he wouldn’t need to eat his hat after all, thought James amused.
“You are horrible!” chorused Sirius, Lily and Jordan in reply.
“Millie beating you has nothing to do with that,” added Lily.
“Me usually beating you does!” added Jordan with a snicker.
“Give it up you three!” scolded Millie “ annoyed to see Eddy moving away from her bishop rather than taking it. “And you’re still going to drop that!” she added to Lily.
Lily didn’t even bother to answer she just snorted and continued playing with the crystal ball.
“I’m bored!” she exclaimed two minutes later.
“Maybe you wouldn’t be if you did something useful with your time,” commented Millie, after prodding her tower forwards three squares.
“Maybe I wouldn’t be if you came with me to the kitchens,” responded Lily quickly. Millie shot her a reproachful look before she turned her attention back to the board.
“You know I won’t!” she said slightly annoyed. “And you shouldn’t either,” she added.
“Yes and it is so very likely that I will alone!” Lily said sarcastically. “That ought to be fun!”
“I’ll go with you!” Jordan said earning him looks of surprise from everyone around and actually causing Lily to drop the orb when she spun around and sat up properly in the chair without giving the crystal ball another thought. “What? I like to sneak out as much as the next guy,” he exclaimed when he saw the looks of surprise around him. “And that was my crystal ball by the way,” he added as he looked at the cracked ball by Lily’s feet.
“I told you, you’d drop it,” said Millie very matter-a-factly. With a frown at her sister and a quick waive of her wand Lily repaired the crystal ball and placed it on the table next to her.
“Are we going then?” she then asked looking at Jordan who immediately stood up and followed her to the portrait hole.
“Lil, please don’t! It could be dangerous!” Millie pleaded, but Lily already had one of her feet in the corridor, and was not turning back now.
“Don’t worry Millie, I’ll take care of her,” Jordan said and stepped out after her with a smile. Lily was however not smiling; instead she looked rather peeved with her arms crossed in front of her staring at Jordan.
“What?” asked Jordan surprised.
“Is that what you think? That I need some guy to ‘take care’ of me?” she asked annoyed. Jordan wasn’t the only one who groaned when he realized his mistake; James too couldn’t help but to groan with sympathy for the boy while Lily’s sympathies lied more with her granddaughter.
“It was just an expression, Potter! I didn’t mean or think anything by it. I certainly do not see you as someone that needs taken care of, by anyone. Please don’t make too much out of one stupid comment,” Jordan begged.
“If you didn’t mean anything by it, why did you say it in the first place?”
“That is why it’s called an expression! I wanted to ease Millie’s mind that’s all!”
“It’s not an expression! You could have told her that I can take care of myself, but no, you chose to say that you would take care of me!”
Jordan sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry Potter. I shouldn’t have said that, I know perfectly well that you can take care of yourself. I won’t do it again.”
“You’re apologizing?” Lily said in utter disbelief.
“Despite your beliefs, I am not a complete git you know. I do have the ability to apologize when I’m wrong;” Jordan said sounding rather offended. “It just doesn’t happen that often,” he then added with a devilish grin that made James laugh out load. Lily tried to give Jordan an annoyed look, but when she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twisting, she turned around and started walking towards the kitchens instead.
“Shall we go?” she turned and asked after a few steps. “Or had you planned on standing here chatting to the fat lady the entire night?” she then added in a mock-nice tone of voice, giving her an excuse for the smile.
“Hold your hippogriffs, I’m coming,” Jordan retorted still grinning. He quickly caught up with her as they headed off. James and Lily hurried to follow them, laughing heartily as they heard the fat lady complain to herself about these incorrigible youths that insisted on bothering her by fighting right by her portrait.
To Jordan’s amazement they managed to get down to the kitchens with only one near encounter with Mrs Norris. Mostly, of course, because James, to Lily’s annoyance, made sure to keep ahead of the two and warn them of any approaching teachers patrolling the corridors. Still they seemed to work well together, even if Lily did complain about Jordan not being as quiet and quick as Millie. This however was something that Jordan seemed to take very little notice off and mostly laugh away.
Once in the kitchen Jordan wasn’t the only one that was surprised when they watched Lily talk to the house-elves. James, who had been there many times himself, knew that the house-elves usually just gave you a bunch of food without you doing anything to get it. Still Lily stayed for a while talking to them. She even seemed to know most of them by name, something James had never bothered with learning.
On their way back to the tower Jordan hardly spoke for the first half of the way. It was like he didn’t really know what to say and so he said nothing instead. Lily seemed to be just as lost for words as Jordan was and therefore they walked in silence. It did turn out to be a very good thing however, since they almost ran into Filch, a little more that halfway back. He stepped out of one of the school’s many secret passageways just as they were turning a corner and if they had been talking he would undoubtedly have heard them.
Jordan reacted first, pulling Lily out of sight around the corner. They were however trapped in the corridor they were in, since the stair that had brought them there had just decided to move.
“So Potter, what do we do now?” whispered Jordan as they listened to Filch footsteps coming closer.
“How would I know? You think of something!” Lily whispered back at him.
“Well, we can’t just stay here “ that’s for sure,” Jordan whispered again. Hesitating only for a moment, he grabbed Lily’s hand and started pulling her along the corridor hoping that some solution would present itself.
Luckily for them, it did. Just as they threw themselves into an empty classroom in order to avoid detection, Peeves soared into it. He stopped short when he saw Lily and Jordan.
“Are we sneaking into classrooms with boys, now little Potter?” Peeves chanted happily as he made a loop in the air.
“Oh give it a rest Peeves, it’s nothing like that!” Lily said slightly annoyed, but James wondered if there wasn’t at least a hint of a blush in her face as she said that.
“We’re hiding from Filch,” Jordan explained, although he couldn’t help but to frown a bit when Lily quickly snatched her hand out of his.
“You wouldn’t mind helping us out a bit?” Lily asked. Peeves, looking rather amused at the situation, thought for a while before he spoke.
“Why? I might think it’s fun to leave you here? See what happens when two little students are stuck in an empty classroom;” he cackled. Lily crossed her arms and looked at him with great annoyance, but behind her back Jordan was looking like he wouldn’t mind if Peeves did leave them stuck in there.
“Well if you leave us here, then I might not give you the new package of gum I asked my uncles to send,” Lily said plainly. “You’ve already gone through my entire stock and I might not order any more if you do not behave. Come to think of it I might even restrain myself from giving you these Dungbombs,” she then added taking out three Dungbombs from her pocket.
“My little Potter has Dungbombs for her friend Peeves,” Peeves said in what was probably supposed to be a sweet voice but that sounded absolutely horrible. Lily however didn’t react, she just looked at Peeves until he swore he would use the Dungbombs to attack Filch, a promise he seemed to keep for less than a minute later Filch was heard yelling hysterically outside the classroom. Soon his running footsteps were heard as he probably chased Peeves down the hall.
The rest of the trip back was completely uneventful and by the time they got back to the fat lady James and Lily were sure that they never seen their granddaughter spend so much time alone with Jordan without bickering. A fact that made James very pleased, not to mention very supercilious about the benefit in helping Lily with her pranks.
Just as Lily and Jordan were sneaking back into the common room with the cakes and tidbits they got from the kitchens, Snape walked by the corridor. Surprisingly enough he did not seem to notice the kids, even though they were clearly in his line of sight. Confused James and Lily stared at him. Snape was not one to miss two students out in a corridor past curfew, especially not weighed down by bags filled with food that they had to have gotten from the kitchens. Amazed James and Lily watched him walk away, in what seemed to be the direction of Harry’s office. Yet that didn’t make sense, since Harry almost never stayed this late at Hogwarts.
Filled with suspicion James grabbed Lily’s hand and followed him. Snape did actually walk straight to Harry’s office. He didn’t even bother to knock to see if Harry was there, but instead walked right into the office.
“Find out anything?”
The sound of Harry’s voice surprised both James and Lily and they drew closer to see their son bent over some parchments on his desk.
“Unfortunately almost nothing we didn’t know or guessed before,” answered Snape calmly as he descended the stairs. Harry snorted.
“So you risked your life for something that would only have been incredibly insubstantial had you attained any information, but that turned out to be completely unnecessary as well - how ingenious of you!” he said sarcastically.
“You would not have thought it unnecessary if I had uncovered something important,” Snape said in his normal disdainful whisper.
“Don’t be so sure about that! As I said, anything you might have found out would probably have been false anyway.”
“If I wanted to be insulted I would have reported to Lupin instead!” Snape snarled baring his yellowish teeth.
“Why didn’t you then? Would have saved me the trouble of having to stay late for absolutely nothing!” answered Harry irritated, leaving the parchments and turning his attention to Snape.
James stared at his son, not being able to understand what he had just said. Why would Snape and Remus have any contact at all? Especially since Snape was the one to kill Peter. James was sure that Remus would never let Peter’s murderer just walk around like this, he would have him arrested on sight. But then again he would never let him work at Hogwarts either. Not if he knew he was the one to kill Peter, that was. Could it be that Harry had not told him? But why would Harry protect him? Confused James took Lily’s hand grateful that she was there.
“You know as well as I do that the only reason I am here to report to you is because Professor McGonagall told me to. I would much rather report to just about anyone else!” snarled Snape at Harry, clearly displeased to be there.
“Did you come here just to say that you have nothing to say, or did you actually get some information as well?” Harry asked with a sigh that told Lily that he too had been ordered into this situation.
Seeing Harry and Snape talk to each other, Lily was struck how much her son looked like his father. Not only in appearances, which she noticed the moment she saw him “ Harry was after all almost a copy of James “ but it was also in their eyes. In the way they looked at Snape, in their clear loathing of him. Yet Harry managed to do something James never had been able to. Carry on a conversation with him, even if it was snarky and sarcastic.
Suddenly Lily felt James push past her and approach the two men in front of them. His face was set as he watched Harry listen to Snape. He then leaned in close to Harry and started whispering in his ear.
“James don’t!” exclaimed Lily when she realized what James was up to.
“Why not! He shouldn’t trust him! He’s a murderer, and a Death Eater “ he is probably helping Malfoy get to Millie,” James said decidedly. There was nothing Lily could do but watch as James once again turned to Harry and with no uncertain terms ordered him not to trust Snape and to throw him out of his office.
Lily shook her head as she watched her son get a distant and confused look on his face that told her that he had heard his father. Snape seemed to notice it too, because he stopped talking and looked at Harry with great displeasure.
“Anything the matter, Potter?” he asked exasperated.
“Huh?” Harry said confused receiving a disdainful look in response from Snape. Shaking his head Harry then seemed to gather himself once again. “Nothing, just a thought that’s all. Don’t worry about it.”
“I was not worried, only irritated that you cannot be bothered with paying attention even when your daughter’s safety is on the line!” Snape snarled. “But then I guess I should not be too surprised “ you are a Potter after all!” he then added. When she heard Snape spit out her surname, Lily found herself being amazed at how much hatred could be fitted in one word,. Harry however didn’t seem to even notice.
“I am sorry if I mistook your irritation for concern,” Harry said with a mock voice, clearly showing that he had done nothing of the kind. “Now if you don’t mind continuing where you left off I promise to give you my full attention.”
James almost screamed with frustration. He was halfway ready repeat his order when Lily grabbed him hard in the arm and told him to give it up.
“He heard you the first time!” she said plainly. “He heard you “ he chose not to listen!”
“But he couldn’t! When I told the girls to do things they always did what I told them,” James said both confused and angry.
“But you never told them to do anything like this, James. Do you think they would still listen if you told them to jump of their brooms or not to trust each other?” asked Lily. “Isn’t it at least possible that they can choose to ignore your orders if they don’t want to follow them? We both saw him hear you, James,” she said caressing his arm in an attempt to calm him down.
James however did not calm down.
“HE SHOULDN’T LISTEN TO THAT LIAR AND MURDERER! IT’S WRONG!” James screamed in distress.
“James, we do not know that he is a liar. We do not know what has happened to make Harry trust him,” Lily tried. But James wouldn’t listen. He did not, could not believe that there could be any explanation good enough explain his son’s behaviour.
“HE CANNOT CHOOSE TO BELIEVE SNAPE OVER ME!” he screamed again revealing what really pained him. The idea that Harry had chosen not to listen, that he had chosen Snape over him. Not being able to stand the situation any longer he left the room.
“James!” Lily called out after him.
“NO! You can do as you wish but I will not stay in the same room with a murderer and a traitor for a moment longer!” James shouted as he left the room wishing that he could slam the door behind him and wondering if he by traitor had meant Snape or Harry.
Lily watched her husband leave and hesitated for a moment on what to do herself. She was very curious to what could be found out by staying, sure that there must be some explanation to why Harry seemed to trust Snape. She could not believe that Harry would put his trust in anyone if he did not have just cause to do so, especially a man that he so clearly disliked, a man that killed his father’s best friend. There had to be something more to it. Still James had been very upset and she knew that he would have no one else to talk to if she did not go to him. A part of her wasn’t even sure if James by traitor had meant Snape or Harry. Putting James’s state of mind first, and not wanting James to think ill of his son, she left the office and headed of to Gryffindor tower to see if there was anything she could do to ease his mind.