A very faint light was shining through a large opening into the tunnel. James pulled himself out through the hold and Lily followed, straightening her incredibly dirtied dress robes as she surveyed the room they were standing in. The unfurnished pieces of furniture were smashed, and strange-coloured stains were all over the floor. The few windows were boarded up tightly
Lily glanced at James, but he was standing stock still, eyes on the ceiling.
“They’re upstairs,” he whispered, reaching in his robes for his Invisibility Cloak. Lily moved closer to him and he threw the Cloak over the both of them. “Quietly as they could, they crept out into the shadowy hall and up the staircase.”* They put out the lights at the end of their wands before they reached the dark landing. Lily tried not to breathe”though her heart was still hammering”as she and James tiptoed toward the first door on the left, behind which voices could be heard. Lily and James crouched side-by-side outside of the door, wands held at the ready, ears as close to the closed door as they dared to get.
“…He is getting more powerful by the day,” a female voice spoke. “It would be a mistake not to join him.”
“It would be a mistake to foolishly expose ourselves by joining someone who is off his rocker-” another voice began, this time a male’s.
“Don’t you dare insult him!” came the woman’s angry reply. “He is more of a wizard than you can ever hope to be!”
“Bellatrix is right, of course,” a smooth, drawling voice agreed. Lily recognized the voice to be that of the Head Boy four years previously: Lucius Malfoy. She had always disliked him and his ridiculous ideas about purity of blood and ‘Mudbloods’ like herself. She might have guessed that Lucius Malfoy would join Lord Voldemort. Lucius continued to talk to the group of students gathered behind the door.
“The Dark Lord is quickly taking over. Those who do not align with him choose to doom themselves to the losing side. Hear it from me: it is far better to offer yourselves to the Dark Lord willingly than to be forced into lifelong servitude.” Lucius paused.
“How do we join?” asked a slightly timid male voice.
“Regulus.” The barely distinguishable sound of disgust came from James.
“You must present yourself to the Dark Lord. If he deems you fit to join his ranks, you will be branded with the Dark Mark.”
Lucius paused again, and Lily heard faint gasps from the room. Lucius must have shown the group his own Mark, Lily guessed.
“If the Dark Lord suspects you untrustworthy, or simply establishes you as detestable slime under his shoe, he will kill you.” Lily could almost feel the collective involuntary shudder go around the room at these words.
“However,” Lucius continued, and his voice moved as he apparently paced the length of the room. “Before you are branded or tortured to death, you must prove your worth to the Dark Lord. You are all given one mission,” Lucius again paused dramatically, and even Lily found herself holding her breath in nervous anticipation. “You must find a way to allow the Dark Lord entry into Hogwarts.”
“How?!”
“But that’s-”
“That’s suicide!”
“Impossible!”
“You will find a way,” Lucius said imperiously, not bothering to disguise the threat. “Do not let even the merest hint of this reach Dumbledore’s ear. My master will be most displeased. This is the chance of a lifetime. Prove your worth to the Dark Lord. Your success will ensure the fulfilment of your wildest dreams. But, should all of you fail-” pause “-punishment will be most harsh.
“The Dark Lord does not extend this invitation lightly. He has asked me-” Lucius put enough emphasis on the word ‘asked,’ leading Lily to believe that he was ordered with no room for argument, rather than presented with a light request.
“-He has asked me to seek out those gifted wizards and witches of noble blood whom I esteem worthy enough to take on such a task. But remember,” Lucius’ tone was warning. “Unlike the old fool Dumbledore, the Dark Lord does not offer second chances. Plan your moves carefully. You have until the end of the school year, no later, to succeed.
“Before I depart, I have been instructed to give each of you this communication parchment.”
Beside Lily, James started.
“Keep it with you at all times. When the time comes for another one of these meetings, I will use this parchment to contact each of you simultaneously. The instructions will appear and you are to follow them. Is there any confusion?”
“Okay, let’s go now!” said James urgently.
“Now?” Lily asked, panicked. “But we don’t know how many-there’s only two of us-Sirius-”
“We’ll have the element of surprise. We’ll go in there, Stun as many as we can while dodging-”
“-while avoiding getting hit with an Unforgivable! This is stupid, James, completely irrational-”
“Are you coming?” James asked, squaring his shoulders and holding his wand high, reaching up for the Cloak.
“No!” said Lily angrily. “We should just wait here, under the Cloak, until Sirius and the others arrive.”
“We’re wasting time,” James hissed. Lily could hear footsteps and the scuffing of chairs on the floor. James whipped the cloak off them and shoved it back into the pockets of his wrinkled dress robes.
“Ready?” he asked.
“James, no,” said Lily desperately, fishing the Cloak quickly out of his pocket and trying to cover them both with it. “Put the Cloak back on right now! We need to wait for Sirius!” There was a minor scuffle while they grappled for possession of the cloak.
“James, put it-”
“No, Lily, we have to go now-”
“Stupid prat-”
“Element of surprise-”
The fighting was cut off by the opening of the door.
“Who’s out there?”
James and Lily held completely still, half-hidden under the Cloak that Lily had been trying to cover them with.
“What’s that?” Someone just inside the room pointed to the floor. Lily and James both looked down. Their legs were clearly visible. James tried to quickly swish the Cloak over them, but it was too late. Lily pushed the Cloak off completely, catching the students gathered around the door off-guard.
“Stupefy!” yelled James and Lily, hitting the two boys nearest them directly in the face. They fired Stunner after Stunner at the group, and somehow ended up in the middle of the meeting room. Some spells missed, but many found their targets. After the surprise wore off, however, Lily and James had lost their only advantage. While they had only heard a few voices in the room, there had really been nearly twenty five students on the other side of the door. They were vastly outnumbered.
The would-be Death Eaters were closing in on them, forming a circle and trapping Lily and James in the middle. They stood back to back with their wands held unwaveringly in front of them, eyes flashing from face to face around the circle of students. Where was Severus? thought Lily.
“A bit over your heads, aren’t you, Potter, Evans?” A voice behind Lily spoke. She turned her head. William Bingley, seventh year Slytherin, fellow prefect.
“Brave of you to come here without a teacher!” called Bellatrix Black from Lily’s right.
Before any of them could speak another word, more people burst into the room. Without thinking, and once again using surprise to their advantage, James and Lily began firing spells at their captors. Sirius, Peter and Remus, as well as Frank Longbottom, Alice, and the Parry twins immediately engaged in the battle.
“Impedimenta! ” cried Lily, sending the nearest student into a mess of chairs.
“Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy! ” she shouted over and over again.
“Petrificus totalus! ”
Lily felt the spell hit her in the back, and fell to the floor, rigid as a board, breaking what felt like every bone in her face.
There were blasts and crashes overhead mixing with shouts of jinxes and pain. Someone tripped over Lily’s legs as she lay there dripping blood into a puddle underneath her slightly opened mouth.
“Stupefy! Finite. ” Lily’s body went limp as the curse was lifted. She pushed herself up off the floor and sat up. She rolled over to face Remus Lupin on the floor beside her, his legs sprawled over hers.
“Are you-” he panted as he removed his legs from hers. His eyes widened in horror as he saw the flow of blood on her face. “Oh, God, Lily! You need to get to the hospital wing!”
Lily shook her head, as she didn’t think it would feel good to speak, and quickly raised her wand to his head. Stupefy! she thought as hard as she could. Thomas Nott dropped to the floor behind Remus.
“Thanks,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at the fallen body. Remus stood quickly and yelled, “Rictusempra! ” A jet of red fired in their direction and they both ducked out of the way. Lily tried to speak, but her face felt like it was being hammered with an iron-spiked fist. Remus quickly helped her to her feet.
“Incendio! ” Bellatrix shouted a little ways away from them, sending a jet of fire straight at Sirius’ chest. His arms flailed around for a moment in panic before he tripped over a groaning body. His eyes widened as he fell backwards into the black veiled curtains, catching them on fire as well. ***
“Stupefy! ” both Peter and Frank yelled. Bellatrix flew into the air and hit the opposite wall with a sickening crunch.
Things were quiet again except for the panting of James, Peter and Frank. Sirius was spluttering, drenched from the water he and John Parry had doused his body and the curtains with. Those standing looked around at the devastation. Stunned bodies of the pre-Death Eaters lay strewn over the room, some buried under others. Crabbe lay in the tangle of chairs where Lily had blasted him. Will Parry was leaning heavily against a boarded window.
But two were missing from the scene, Lily noted. Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy.
“Malfoy,” Lily croaked. James was hurrying over to her.
“Lily, are you alright?” he asked, his face slightly panicked at the sight of the blood covering her face. “Of course not. Stupid question. I’ll get you to the hospital wing.” Before she could say anything, James scooped her up in his arms.
“James!” she exclaimed, slurring his name, causing bursts of pain on her cheeks, nose and forehead. She winced, and then said, “I can walk, you know.”
James ignored her.
“Sirius, mate, you okay? Did she get you badly?” James called.
“Nah, I’m great!” Sirius called cheerfully, still sopping and shaking the dripping hair out of his eyes like a dog.
Peter and Frank had bent over Alice, who was unconscious on the floor and oozing something green and odorous from a gashed cheek.
“Alice!”
“Sirius, why don’t you come to the hospital wing with Lily and me?” James said, and then continued talking over Sirius’ protests. “Frank, Peter, bring Alice to the hospital wing, and Will, you stay with Remus and John to watch over this lot.” James indicated the fallen with a jerk of his head. I’m going to see to Lily.” James turned and carefully made his way over the objects littering the floor of the Shack, Lily’s arms wrapped around his neck. They made their way down the staircase, Sirius and Frank trailing them. Frank had his wand trained on Alice hovering in front of him.
“Peter’s staying to guard the Slytherins. I’ve got Alice,” Frank called to Lily when he noticed her looking back at him.
As they reached the first floor, Lily became aware that James was walking rather unevenly.
“James,” she questioned concernedly, trying to move her split mouth as little as possible, “Are you hurt as well?”
“Nah, m’alright,” he muttered, setting her down gently on her feet outside of the entrance to the tunnel. “Go ahead, I’m right behind you.” He gave her a small prod in the back and Lily had no choice but to oblige him.
Once in the tunnel, they didn’t speak much. Every jarring step made pain shoot through Lily’s broken nose and jaw. She heard James’ somewhat laboured breathing behind her, and Frank’s mild cursing every time he accidentally brushed Alice against the side of the narrow tunnel.
Finally, Lily could see the faint light from the half-moon shining through the gap in the roots of the Whomping Willow. James brushed past her, climbed the steep incline, and extended his hand to her. She took it and together they climbed.
“No, I don’t need any help, you guys go on ahead,” Sirius called up to them. Lily laughed, and then winced as pain shot through the shattered parts of her face.
Their breathing was ragged as Lily and James finally emerged into the crisp night air. James let go of Lily and extended his hand to Sirius, who grasped it, and pulled him up with a jerk. Alice’s floating body came next, followed by Frank. James and Sirius hauled him up as well, Frank’s wand never wavering from Alice.
They trudged through the snow back up to the castle, and the clinging snow fell from their feet and robes to make messy puddles in the entrance hall.
“Filch’ll have our heads,” Sirius muttered.
They entered the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey immediately bustled over to them.
“Goodness gracious!” she exclaimed. “What on earth have you kids been doing? Not duelling, I hope!”
“It’s a long story,” said James.
She wasn’t listening to him. She was instructing Frank where to place Alice.
“Easy, now. Gently.”
Once Alice was carefully placed on a cot, Madam Pomfrey hurried around her, wand out, inspecting the damage. All of a sudden, Alice gave a shudder and coughed, sending a dribble of green onto the pillow.
“What happened to her?” Lily whispered.
“Lestrange,” said Frank, his face hard. “I’m not sure what he hit her with.”
Madam Pomfrey had looked up at the sound of Lily’s voice; temporarily halting the cleaning of Alice’s cut.
“Heavens, child!”
The nurse hurried into her office, returning quickly with numerous bottles of different-coloured liquids. She set the majority on Alice’s bedside table, but kept two in her hand, measuring out the right amount, and handing some to Lily.
“Drink up,” she said briskly.
Lily tipped her head back and drank down the potion, fighting the urge to retch. The pain alleviated almost immediately, and with a quick flick of her wand, Madam Pomfrey mended Lily’s broken nose. She held her hand to Lily’s jaw and tapped her wand to it.
“There,” she said, pleased with her work. “Better?”
“Much, thank you,” said Lily gratefully, gingerly touching her nose.
“Are the rest of you hurt?” asked Madam Pomfrey as she siphoned the blood off Lily’s face with her wand.
“Sirius was burned a bit, I’m positive James has an injured leg, and I’m not quite sure if anything happened to Frank,” Lily answered quickly for them, finishing with a questioning look at Frank. James and Sirius just glared at her.
“Just some minor cuts and bruises,” Frank shrugged.
Disregarding his comment, Madam Pomfrey looked him over quickly, pronounced him fine and tried to shoo him off.
“But Alice-” he began.
“And you,” Madam Pomfrey talked over Frank, turning to examine Sirius behind the screen.
“Minor burns,” the nurse muttered. “Nothing serious.” She poured Sirius some of the potion she had given Lily and called, “Come here, Mr. Potter! Quickly, my patient awaits my care.” James scurried behind the curtain as Sirius emerged, gagging.
“Can’t handle your healing potion, Black?” Lily teased him, feeling much better now that she was no longer in pain.
“I liked you better when your jaw was broken,” he replied cheekily. Lily just glared daggers at him.
Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey hadn’t said a word in examining James. She just dashed out from behind the curtain, snatched a different bottle filled with orange potion, and disappeared behind the screen. James emerged a moment later, his face red as he straightened his robes.
“Alright, mate?” Sirius asked, regarding James’s flushed face suspiciously.
“Fine. Just a…cut,” said James evasively, and Madam Pomfrey tutted at him.
“Now, out, all of you!” she shooed them out. “Yes, even you, Mr. Longbottom. OUT!” And with that, she shut the door of the wing.
“I’ll stay here until Alice wakes,” said Frank, sinking wearily to the stone floor beside the door.
“I’ll stay with you,” said Lily at once.
“No, no, you go on to bed. I’ll stay.”
“Are you sure, Frank?” questioned Lily.
“Quite.” He waved them off.
They had walked a few steps in the direction of the common room when Lily said suddenly, “Someone must tell Professor Dumbledore what happened.”
“Not me; I don’t really know the whole story,” said Sirius, shrugging his damp shoulders carelessly. “One or both of you two should. Besides, I’m going back to the Shrieking Shack to check on the guys.”
“Right,” said James. Sirius left.
“Well,” Lily said, taking James’ hand, “Let’s go, then.” They set off through the corridors to the Headmaster’s office.
“Fizzing whizbee.” Lily gave the gargoyle the password and the stone guardian moved aside to allow them access. James knocked on the inside door.
“Enter,” came Dumbledore’s voice from within.
James pushed open the doors, releasing Lily’s hand as they walked into Dumbledore’s office.
“Mr. Potter, Miss Evans,” he greeted them, rising from his desk. “To what pleasure do I owe this rather late visit?”
“Sorry about that, sir,” Lily apologized quickly.
“No, quite all right,” Dumbledore replied. “You are a responsible Head Boy and Girl; you must have a good reason.” He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. “Please, sit.”
They sat.
“So…” Professor Dumbledore prompted.
“Right.” Lily glanced at James. “We were at Professor Slughorn’s Christmas party tonight, sir.”
“Indeed? I stopped by myself, a little late, perhaps. Please continue.”
“I saw Sev-some suspicious students leaving early, Professor,” continued Lily. “This was a group of students who did not normally fraternize with each other, so I was naturally suspicious.”
“Naturally.”
“I-I ran up to my dormitory to get-” Lily paused, glancing again at James, silently asking his permission to share the bit about his aid to mischief. James nodded at her.
“-to get James’ Invisibility cloak.”
Professor Dumbledore’s blue eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles.
“It is quite all right, Miss Evans,” he said, smiling at her from across his desk. “I am well aware that Mr. Potter is in possession of an Invisibility cloak. But that is a tale best left for another time, yes?”
James grinned.
“Uh, right,” said Lily, and she proceeded to tell the Headmaster about the events that had taken place that night, James adding in his own comments here and there.
“Alice is still in the hospital wing,” Lily finished worriedly, her voice shaking a little. “I do hope she’ll be all right. Frank didn’t know what Rodolphus threw at her…”
“Madam Pomfrey is more than equipped to handle Miss Thatcher’s injuries, not to mention well-qualified,” Professor Dumbledore said comfortingly.
“Professor,” James said hesitantly. “We were in the Shrieking Shack, which is in Hogsmeade, not Hogwarts. Do you think-Maybe Lucius Malfoy Apparated away once Lily and I entered the room-?”
“That is the most likely possibility,” Dumbledore agreed, standing up from his high-backed chair. Lily and James did as well. “Thank you for telling me all of this, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans. Your information has been invaluable. But now I must assess the damage and take the correct course of action.”
“Of course, Professor.” They moved out of the Professor’s way as he exited the office, James and Lily following right behind him. Once outside, Dumbledore bid them both a hasty good night and hurried off to the Shrieking Shack.
James and Lily slowly walked hand-in-hand back to the Gryffindor common room. Lily’s mind was reeling from everything that had happened. Not with Lucius, certainly…
“We should probably go up to bed and not investigate what’s happening out there, huh?” said James ruefully.
“Sirius, Remus and Peter will tell you when they get in, won’t they?” asked Lily vaguely, still occupied by her own thoughts.
“Mm-hmm.”
Lily looked over at him. His hair was sticking on its end and all over the place; his glasses were spotted with bits of unidentifiable flecks; and his bright yellow dress robes were filthy with dirt and dust, and they were torn in a few places. Lily knew she didn’t look much better. But she just looked at James, who gazed back at her, and she felt a sudden upsurge of affection for him. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her, burying her face into his chest.
“You’re very brave and rash and a bit foolish sometimes, you know that?” she asked, her voice muffled and barely distinguishable. Lily felt James laugh, his chuckles vibrating in his chest.
“But I do like you an awful lot,” she said softly, removing her head from his chest and looking up into his hazel eyes.
“I do too, Lilyflower,” James replied. He bent his head and Lily raised herself on her tiptoes to meet his lips. Hers met his, sending pleasant shivers down her spine and causing that familiar swooping sensation in her stomach.
They sauntered back to the common room, which still wasn’t yet empty, and said good night, kissing each other once more before going into their separate dormitories.
Lily changed quickly into her pyjamas, brushed aside the clothes and other random items she had throw from her trunk earlier, and collapsed gratefully into her four-poster bed. She didn’t even have time to twitch the hangings closed before she fell asleep.
A/N: * “Quietly as they could, they crept out into the shadowy hall and up the staircase.””This was also taken from Prisoner of Azkaban, page 338, American paperback version.
** “[Sirius’] eyes widened as he fell backwards into the black veiled curtains, catching them on fire as well.” In case any of you didn’t catch this obvious allusion, I am doing a little bit of foreshadowing to Sirius Black’s unfortunate and incredibly stupid death at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.