It was like the calm before the storm; it was eerily silent in the room, but the tension in the air was palpable. Even little Harry seemed to notice the unnatural calm that had settled on the room, stifling and overbearing. He was looking at each of the adults in turn, searching for the source of the problem.
–It’s from Sev.â€
They were the last words that had been uttered, the words that now echoed in everyone’s ears. Sirius had stiffened visibly, and let go of Lily’s hand as if he’d been burned. Lily’s hand had burned with the betrayal; those three words had created a deep rift between the close friends. She hazarded a look at Remus, and saw dislike in his eyes, but it was nothing compared to the raging hatred that Lily saw clearly in Sirius’ eyes as he got up from the couch and strode to the opposite end of the room. He kept his mouth shut, obviously aware that their elder, their old headmaster, still resided in the living room. He at least had the decency and control to hold his tongue for now. Lily could only brace herself for the hurricane that was surely on its way.
Dumbledore, sensing that any more time in Lily’s home would be overstaying his welcome, rose from his seat.
–Well, I’d best be going. Other duties to attend to back at Hogwarts and the like. Thank you for your hospitality, Lily. The tea was simply superb.†Lily was brought back to her senses by Dumbledore’s parting words.
–Yes, yes. Thank you for stopping by, Professor, and bringing us that news. It’s made us all very... happy,†she paused on the last word, for happy wasn’t exactly the word to describe the present mood in the house. Remus, too, rose to his feet and shook his old headmaster’s hand.
–Good to see you, Professor.â€
–And you, Remus. You as well, Sirius.â€
Sirius remained where he stood on the opposite side of the room, only nodding his head curtly. It was as if he knew that the moment he opened his mouth the words would not be polite ones. The storm couldn’t be abated forever. There was a pronounced crack, and the older man was gone.
Without really thinking, Lily glared at Sirius. –That was rude, Sirius. He didn’t do anything to you. Why take it out on him?†The redhead clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as the words were out. Antagonizing Sirius was the last thing she should’ve done in that moment.
–Oh, spare me the lecture, Evans,†Sirius drawled. He paused infinitesimally, as surprised as the rest of them were that he had reverted back to Lily’s surname, as he’d done back in their days at Hogwarts when their relationship had been something akin to enemies. It was this one word and the tone with which he delivered it, the cruel undertones sneaking their way in, that stung Lily most sharply. She cringed at his rebuke, holding Harry close as if he could act as a shield from the painful feelings.
–You just can’t help yourself, can you, Lily?†He couldn’t bring himself to use her surname again. She was a Potter. She was his friend, Lily. He tried to remind himself of this now, but his hatred of his childhood enemy, Lily’s oldest friend, superseded any kindred feelings toward the woman before him. His frustration and anger at the entire situation had him shouting things he couldn’t have imagined saying, not now.
–You always have to be the better one, the one with the moral high ground! Lily, the one who always does what’s right. The one who always feels the need to correct everyone else.â€
–Stop it! Just stop, Sirius. Not in front of Harry,†Lily utilized the only advantage she had to hold off the torrent of rage. Her friend steeled himself, and pressed his lips together tightly. No matter how angry he got, Lily knew that Sirius would curb his tongue as long as Harry was around. He wouldn’t dare upset the toddler. She had until that evening to steel herself for what was to come.
One might wonder why Lily didn’t simply ask Sirius to leave. In his volatile state, he was bound to erupt at some point. He was a lit fuse. She had avoided the argument for now, but she knew what was on the horizon. She could have easily asked Remus to take Sirius and leave, but she wasn’t going to. Lily couldn’t shake the feeling that this was somehow her fault, that she somehow deserved rebuke for receiving this letter from her old friend.
The hours passed and the tension did not dissipate in the least. If anything, it seemed to grow stronger. Every minute that passed was another minute for Sirius to dwell on his anger and brew something even worse. Lily knew that what lie ahead was bound to be worse than if she had just weathered the storm to begin with, but she couldn’t do that to Harry. She spent most of the day outside in the backyard with her little boy, watching him explore his newfound freedom on his still unstable feet. The anticipation melted away somewhat with the sun warm on her back, and her little boy’s giggles every time he stumbled and got a new grass stain on his pants. The clouds eventually drifted in as evening fell upon them, though, and Lily shivered.
She tucked in Harry once his eyes grew heavy and his eyelids fluttered in his attempts to stay awake. She kissed his forehead as she lay him in his crib, and a blissful smile came to rest on his peaceful face. She descended the stairs and crossed to the couch, picking up the photo she’d received earlier in the day. She smiled sadly as the James alive in the photograph blew kisses in her direction. She heard footsteps that announced the presence of her friends, and looked up. Remus took a seat in the chair beside the couch, and Sirius stood across from them, declining her invitation to sit. Lily quickly cast a silencing charm to ensure that the heated words to follow would not reach the ears of her child upstairs.
–You’re a living conundrum, Lily. You know that?â€
Whatever Lily had been expecting to hear leave Sirius’ mouth, it was not this. She was surprised that he’d been able to force the words out in such a calm manner. He wasn’t shouting, not yet.
–You’re a conundrum. You sit there and hold James’ picture like it means the world to you, and yet a letter from his oldest enemy, someone I thought you despised as well, lays next to you on the couch. I saw you today, Lily. I watched your face as you opened the letter and saw who had penned it. Fondness. Fondness and joy crossed your face, Lily. How much can James really mean to you if you still harbor joy and fondness in your heart for the man who viewed him as the scum of the earth?â€
Here they came. The accusations flew across the room, painful and barbed, hurting all the more because they had truth to them. Sirius was not flinging outlandish claims at her; he was reminding her of her deepest worries and sources of guilt and pain. Despite this, she felt the primal need to defend her actions, defend Severus even.
–He was my friend, Sirius. How do you expect me to feel? No matter the man he may be now, nothing can erase the fact that he was my first real friend, my oldest friend, and I loved him for so many years.â€
–He was your friend, Lily. Was. That changed. Don’t you remember the names he --â€
–I remember plainly, Sirius.â€
–Don’t you remember how he treated James and I? He attacked us without reason, without provocation!â€
–Don’t be so self-righteous, Sirius! As if he never had reason. I think you’re forgetting how you treated him first.â€
Sirius was shouting now, desperation clear in his voice as if he were trying to convince Lily of something. –He was cruel, Lily! He loved the Dark Arts. He associated with Avery and Mulciber. He turned his back on you! He abandoned you when it counted most!â€
–Don’t you think I know that?†Lily was crying now, her shouts punctuated by her hitching breath. –I know I lost my best friend! He was only a misunderstood and lonely boy, and I lost him to the Dark Arts. I lost him to Voldemort! But I loved him before that, and I still love him now!â€
–How can you say that? You’re disgracing his memory, Lily. You’re disgracing James’ memory! You can’t really have loved James that much, if you’re willing to admit how much Snape meant to you!â€
–Stop it. That’s enough,†Remus had finally spoken up. –That’s too far, Sirius. I’m not particularly fond of Severus, either, but we both know that Lily loved James just as much as we did. You don’t have the right to question her devotion to James.â€
–But --â€
–Shut up. Just shut up,†Remus was glaring at Sirius now. –You’re being a git, more than a git, really. Git’s not really a strong enough word.â€
Sirius acquiesced, pursuing another line of speech. –Fine. Read the letter, Lily. I want to know what he has to say for himself, at least.â€
Lily didn’t look at Sirius as she picked up the letter, and unfolded it, her stomach doing somersaults all the while. She hadn’t gotten very far in reading it earlier when it had first arrived. As soon as she’d revealed who it was from, all hell had broken loose. Lily could only hope that Severus hadn’t written anything that would inflame Sirius’ temper uncontrollably.
–Dear Lily...â€
The redhead looked up from the letter, not wanting to meet Sirius’ eyes, sure she would find seething hatred there. She looked to Remus instead, and he nodded to her, his eyes telling her to continue, that it would all work out in the end. He would be there to quell Sirius’ undeserved wrath.
–Dear Lily,†she began anew. –I hope this letter finds you well.†Lily heard Sirius scoff across from her, but didn’t look up. She knew him well enough to know the look she’d find in her friend’s face. She could almost hear him now. Yeah, bloody good start, eh, Snivelly? She took a breath and continued. –I’m sorry for not reaching out sooner. I just didn’t know how to or when would be the right time. I know this has been hard for you, and I felt like you deserved your space after the last time I came around, what with all that I told you.â€
Lily felt her heart crash through the floor. She hadn’t told Remus or Sirius of Severus’ involvement in James’ death. She hazarded a glance to her friends, and to her astonishment and relief, neither of them seemed to have picked up on the fact that Lily had hidden something from them.
–I don’t really know how to start. We haven’t talked in so long, Lily, but I’ve missed you all this time. I know you may not believe me. All these years we’ve spent apart, in two separate worlds, but I’ve never stopped thinking about you. I can’t say that I regret everything that’s happened in the past years. I can’t say that I would take back everything that happened and change it all. There’s so much that I could have showed you, so much that you could have achieved. You are such a bright witch, Lily. You held so much potential.â€
–The Arts,†Lily could almost hear the fondness in his voice as if he was speaking to her now, his voice caressing the words like a bewitched lover when he spoke of the Dark Arts. Her stomach turned over a bit, a sick sensation settling there. –The Arts are simply misunderstood. They hold so much power; there was so much that could have been accomplished.â€
Lily could feel the tears pricking at her eyes. He sounded exactly the same as he had all those years before at Hogwarts, when she had severed ties with him. His fascination with the Dark Arts had driven them apart, and Lily now felt sick with dashed hopes that he had somehow changed. She looked up at her friends and saw raging fury deep set in Sirius’ eyes; Remus was calmer, but his eyes held a sorrow and disappointment that struck a chord. It could have ended there. Lily could have stopped reading and that would have been the end of it all, but she read on, grasping for some sort of hope, any kind of hope.
–Despite all this, I regret that Potter, James I suppose I should call him, died. I truly do. I wish that events had not occurred as they did. I know how much pain this has caused you, Lily, and for that I am sorry. I could see it in your eyes and feel it in your tremors when last we met. I regret that you had to endure all this pain, and I do wish to do anything possible to rid you of that pain. Just know this, that I am on your side. If it were to ever come to a fight again, I would be on your side. I would protect you no matter my other thoughts on the matter.†Lily’s heart lifted at these words, the flicker that she’d been groping in the darkness for. Perhaps there was still hope for her oldest friend.
And then the bomb dropped. Lily had been careless; she hadn’t scanned ahead to see what was coming. She had simply forged ahead, the words pouring from her mouth before she could stop herself.
–What I am most sorry for was that I know I had some part in the excruciating pain you endured. I regret most strongly the part I played, no matter how unknowingly events unfolded, in James’ demise.â€
Lily gasped and dropped the letter. Oh, Merlin, she’d done it now. There was no hiding it now; she never should have hidden this from Sirius and Remus. If the tension in the room had been heavy before, it was stifling now. Lily recoiled when she looked at Sirius and saw that the fury that had been contained in his cold, grey eyes had spread to his entire body. He was literally trembling in rage, visibly shaking. Remus’ eyes were wide with shock and disbelief, but he was carefully watching Sirius, ready to spring to Lily’s defense if need be.
–He what...?†Sirius hardly forced the words out coherently, venom lacing his already deadly voice. –Explain --â€
–Sirius, I --†Lily’s voice was small as she tried to croak out an apology.
–Explain it! Now!†He roared, the beast within rearing its head.
–Sirius, Remus, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should’ve told you --â€
–You knew? You knew?! How could you?†Sirius’ barbed words flew across the room, but what stung more deeply was the sense of betrayal that Lily heard beneath the fury.
–I’m sorry, I --â€
–Damn it, Lily! I don’t want your empty apologies right now! I want to know what that traitorous coward did so that I when I track him down, I know just how much pain to inflict before I kill him!â€
–He didn’t mean to! It wasn’t his fault --â€
–What do you mean it wasn’t his fault, Lily? You and I both know that whatever it was that he did, it was completely intentional!â€
Lily looked to Remus for help, but he just shook his head sadly. There was nothing he could do to soften the blow. It was clear Severus had somehow been involved, and she had hidden this from her two closest friends. She knew they would never abandon her, though; they didn’t have it in themselves to act so cruelly. But it was apparent from the anguish and pain in their eyes that she had hurt them deeply.
Lily was frantic now. Her world was crumbling down around her, and the worst part was that she agreed with everything Sirius had said. It wasn’t as if she held Severus at no fault, as if she’d forgiven him for his involvement in James’ death. Far from it, in fact. Lily still felt ill every time she thought of what he’d done. If Lily was honest with herself, she would have liked to hex him to oblivion, to make him suffer as she had. But as it was, he had no one to defend him, and Lily felt a primal need to protect her oldest friend. No matter her thoughts on Severus, though, her closest friends, the ones standing before her now, one trembling in anger and the other steeped in sadness, deserved the truth.
–There was a prophecy.†Lily took a deep breath. –There was a prophecy made by a woman named Sybill Trelawney, two years ago in the Hog’s Head. The prophecy that was made to Dumbledore that marked Harry and James and I as targets of the Dark Lord. There was another in the pub that night that overheard the prophecy. Severus overheard the words predicting the downfall of the Dark Lord, and immediately relayed the information to Voldemort. Voldemort never would have known of the prophecy and targeted us if it hadn’t been for Severus.â€
Tears were still sliding from Lily’s eyes when she finished speaking and looked up at her best friends. Remus looked overwhelmed with a heavy sort of sadness, a mixture of anger and newly realized grief. She knew Remus would never go after Snape as he’d gone after Sirius; it wasn’t nearly as personal as a betrayal. What Snape had done was almost expected, as if was it in his nature. Besides, Remus had never harbored the same kind of hatred and animosity that the other Marauders had. Sirius, on other other hand, had set his jaw and gone deathly pale. This was an easy direction to channel his anger and grief, against his old enemy, a man partly responsible for his best friend’s death. Sirius had been looking for a place to direct all this overwhelming emotion ever since Peter had escaped. Snape was the perfect option. There was no changing his mind on this; Lily knew this without a doubt.
–I’m going to kill him. I’m really going to kill that man.†The calm in which Sirius echoed the words he had first shouted at Peter sent chills down Remus and Lily alike.
–Sirius, please... listen to me --â€
–Stop, Remus. Just stop.â€
–Sirius, please. Do you really think James would have wanted you to become a killer on his behalf, let alone at all?â€
Sirius paused momentarily. –I don’t think James would have stopped me.â€
Lily spoke up this time. –It wasn’t his fault, Sirius!â€
–Damn it, Lily! Quit using that feeble argument! Of course it was his fault! He practically hand delivered you and James to Voldemort!â€
–He tried to help! He did everything he could! How do you think Dumbledore knew the prophecy meant us? Severus betrayed his master, and ran to Dumbledore the moment he found out that Voldemort was after us. He tried to protect us any way he could! He was working for Dumbledore by the end. I haven’t completely forgiven him for everything that he’s done, but that’s got to make a difference. It’s got to count for something!â€
–That doesn’t count for anything. That doesn’t change a thing.â€
Remus’ eyes had widened after hearing the last bit of the story. –Yes, it does, Sirius. That changes everything! Try to be reasonable.â€
–You two don’t seem to see it!†Sirius roared. –He’s still the same person, no matter if he showed momentary regret or not! It was self-preservation anyway. We all know the only reason he tried to protect your family was because he was terrified of losing you because he’s still infatuated with you! He’s still going to hurt you if you have anything to do with him, Lily! He’s still the same, despicable person that caused James’ death, and I’m still gonna kill him if I ever see him around this house again!â€
Lily’s internal defense mechanisms kicked in at that moment, and she was on her feet in an instant. Her stubbornness and hurt caused her to lash out, not entirely sure if the decision she was making was the right one. –Well, rest assured Sirius, I’ll spare you the chance to kill him! You won’t have to see him, but I’m going out tomorrow to meet with him! Now, get out of my house! I don’t want to see you around here anymore!â€
Sirius’ clenched jaw dropped open. –You what?!â€
–I don’t have to explain myself to you! Now get out!†Lily pushed past him and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door and collapsing on her bed.
-------------------------------------------
Lily awoke early to the sounds of her baby. Well, Harry wasn’t quite a baby anymore. He was almost two, and was walking and babbling like nobody’s business. Lily stumbled groggily down the hall to Harry’s room, and pushed open the door. Harry was standing in his crib, trying to climb out.
–Eager to start the day, huh, honey?†She asked of her young son as she picked him up out of the crib. –Yeah, well, somebody’s got to be.†Lily wasn’t exactly excited as the prospect of facing today. Her thoughts were still plagued by the argument she’d had with one of her best friends the night before, and the meeting with a friend she hadn’t really spoken to at length in years lay ahead of her. She was following through with her decision to meet with Severus, but it didn’t mean she’d had her doubts. After all, she was basing her assessment that he’d somehow changed on the contents of one short letter. She felt rather ill about the whole situation all morning as she tried to keep herself busy; tidying up, gardening, playing with Harry. She only hoped she was right; she wanted to prove Sirius wrong, that Sev really had changed.
At about two in the afternoon, Lily packed a bag, gathered up Harry, and set out at a brisk walk. The cafe in Diagon Alley where Severus had said he would wait was about a forty-five minute walk from her home. Lily could have apparated; side-along apparation had been cleared as safe for children, but Lily liked to not subject Harry to the uncomfortable feeling unless she had to. Besides, she needed this time to clear her head and prepare herself for the road ahead.
Lily walked the familiar path to Leaky Cauldron in London, and tapped the bricks, pausing to take a breath before stepping through into Diagon Alley. Lily spotted him before she spotted the cafe where she was supposed to be meeting him. He was sitting at a table outside, a certain resigned sadness on his face, as if he hadn’t expected her to come at all. His black hair still hung limply around his face, and he was as pale as ever. His thin frame was hunched over, as if the weight of the world was weighing on his shoulders. It was his face, though, that drew Lily’s attention. He looked so young, so fragile, yet so forlorn and worn down that his features could have belonged to a war veteran. In a way, she guessed he was. In any case, she knew in that moment that she had made the right decision in coming. He needed her, and in her own way, she needed him.
–Sev,†she said softly as she drew nearer. His head snapped up and the joy in his eyes warmed something inside Lily.
–Lily... I didn’t think you would come,†Severus mused as he got to his feet quickly. His black eyes soon fell on Harry. –You brought him.â€
Lily nodded as Harry squirmed in her arms, turning to look quizzically at Severus, trying to figure out if he’d seen this man before. –Well, I am a single parent.â€
Severus winced at the comment, guilt clear in his eyes. –No! I didn’t mean it like that... I just..†Lily paused, placing a hand on Severus’ arm as he stepped backwards. –I didn’t mean anything by that, I swear it. I just meant there’s no one to leave him with, so he usually comes along.†She joined him at the table and sat beside him.
–What about Lupin and Black?†Lily could hear the distaste in his words as he mentioned Sirius. She inwardly cursed. Why did men have to act like this? The grudges and hatred they held lasted lifetimes.
–We’re, erm, not on the best terms right now. Besides,†she tried to skim over the truth quickly, not meaning to let Severus know that she wasn’t speaking to Sirius on account of him, –Harry likes getting out. Too much time at home, and he gets fussy.â€
Severus had always been a clever man, though, picking up on things that most others would miss. –I’m sorry,†he said simply. Lily nodded, a sad sort of smile lingering on her face. She had no desire to dwell on that, though. Just as the lull in the conversation was beginning to lengthen, Severus spoke again.
–He has your eyes, you know. He has your green eyes.†Lily looked up to see Severus looking intently at her son, a smile on his lips, and Harry holding his gaze. Her little boy looked up at her for a moment, a knowing look in the eyes that so closely matched hers, before turning back to the man gazing at him.
–Sev,†he said matter of factly, pointing a chubby finger at Severus. Lily laughed then, the tension gone from the encounter, and both her son and her friend joined in. The conversation flowed smoothly from there, and Lily and Severus spoke as if they were just old friends catching up, which they were if you ignored the fact that one of them had played a part in the death of the other’s loved one. But eventually things turned sour, as all good things seemed to these days. As the day grew darker, so did the topics of their conversation.
–I missed you, you know, all those years back at school, Sev,†Lily told her friend, her head coming to rest on his shoulder, just as it had all those years ago when times were so much simpler. –It was lonely for a while. I wish we could’ve spent more time together.†Harry was asleep on her shoulder by now. –I really, really missed you.â€
–We could’ve spent more time together, Lily.â€
She shook her head. –We drifted apart, Sev. You... you made other friends, friends that I couldn’t be around.â€
–That was your choice, Lily, not mine. I never made the decision to exclude you. You were the one who disassociated yourself from me, like you were ashamed of me. You said that my interest in the Arts had twisted me; you were the one who left.†Lily could hear the hurt and accusation creeping into his voice. She didn’t like where this was heading, but she felt just as strongly as about it as she had all those years ago. She couldn’t just leave the conversation there.
–They did twist you, Sev. The Dark Arts, your new friends, your new... master. Do you really think he would have allowed me to freely hang around you, knowing what they thought of people like me?â€
–They would have made an exception for you!†Severus countered quickly. –He did try to recruit you and James.â€
Lily shivered, remembering the experience clearly. –Like I would have ever accepted. Your lot thought I was the scum of the earth. You even said so yourself, more than once.†The recollection of that day made Lily sick; she had the sinking feeling that history might repeat itself.
–I... I was just trying to fit in. You know how hard it can be in school, trying to find a group of people that accept you. People that would care for you, that would be on your side.â€
Lily jerked her head back to look her friend in the eye, appalled by his weak explanation.
–I cared for you, Sev, from the start! I was on your side from the beginning! I tried protecting you all those years, but you just treated me like lower than nothing. I loved you, Sev! I cared for you more than anyone in the world!â€
Severus’ black eyes grew cold. –You didn’t love me, Lily. You had Potter.â€
–Yes, I had James. I did, and I loved him, but I needed my best friend, Sev. You abandoned me when I needed you most!â€
–It was for the greater good!†He roared, eyes flashing in the fading light of dusk.
Lily stopped short. Her eyes widened as she stared incredulously at the man before her.
–It was for the greater good, and I’d do it again if I had to.â€
–Abandoning your best friend, humiliating me every time I tried to stand up for you, that was all for the greater good?†Her emerald eyes held pools of deep hurt, and rising rage and disbelief. –If all that was for the greater good, I can only imagine what else you considered ‘for the greater good’. I suppose you’d like me to believe that your master’s plan to eliminate all the Mudbloods and Muggles was for the greater good?â€
–Yes, it was.â€
–How can you say that, Sev? Innocent people! How could you possibly justify killing innocent people for your cause?â€
Distaste was evident in his voice as he forged on, not caring of the irreparable damage he was inflicting with his words. –They were inferior. They were vermin that deserved to be wiped out, so that the wizarding world would be a cleaner, more pure place. A place for people like us, Lily.â€
Lily leapt to her feet in a rush to escape her collapsing world. She couldn’t believe this was happening again.
–I am nothing like you! Nothing! You’re forgetting, I’m not pureblood, and neither are you! I’m not cruel and sadistic and twisted like you either. I can’t believe you! I thought...†Tears slipped from her eyes despite her best efforts to hold them back, and the hole in her chest grew exponentially as she lost her friend for the second time in her life. –I thought that maybe, just maybe, you’d changed.â€
–Wait, Lily! Just wait...†He tried to follow her, grabbing her arm, panic rising in his eyes as he realized exactly what he’d just done.
Lily pulled her wand from her pocket, and thrust it at his throat. –Get away from me, Severus. Just stay away. Don’t follow me, and don’t ever come around my house again. If you do, I’ll let Sirius inflict just as much pain on you as he wanted to. You killed James, and for that I’m never going to forgive you. And don’t ever try to tell me you never abandoned me, that it was my fault, cause it’s all you every time!â€
With that, Lily ran from the scene of her worst nightmare. She ran, and ran, and kept on running. She didn’t think she could make it all the way home, so she ran to the nearest place she could think of for solace. She reached the front door of the flat in a little under ten minutes. She knocked and stepped back, waiting. Her flaming hair was tangled in knots, and her cheeks were flushed and windblown. She looked like hell.
The door swung open, and Lily looked up. Sirius stood there, a sad sort of smile resting on his lips. She shot him a pleading look: please don’t say I told you so. He shook his sadly, sorrow in his eyes.
–Wouldn’t dream of it, Lily. I’m so, so sorry.†He drew her into his arms as Remus appeared in the doorway and gathered Harry. She made it to the couch before dissolving into tears, head buried in Sirius’ shoulder.
–You were right. You were so right, Sirius,†she choked out. –Why don’t I ever see it until it’s too late?â€
–Because,†Sirius whispered in her ear, –you always look for the best in people.â€
The Last Enemy That Shall Be Defeated Is Death by simply_enamored
Chapter Notes: Once again: I take credit for none of the places, characters, or ideas in this chapter. Thanks to Jo for letting us dabble in her magnificent world.