Snowflakes started to fall, the first of the season. They landed on Lily's eyelashes and settled in her hair softly, like giving her a hat sent from Heaven. She pulled her mittens from her cloak, drawing her hood up.
"Ginny?" Lily asked softly. "Since you don't really want to go to Jessica's, why don't you spend Christmas with us? That way you can be with at least one brother."
"Really, that's fine, ma'am, I don't mind, I-"
"It's not your first choice though. Trust me, I know. How about you say 'thank you, I would love to'?" A slight grin flitted across Lily's face.
"Thank you, I would love to stay at your house for Christmas." Ginny said politely.
"Excellent."
Lily trained her gaze upon Harry flying around, searching for the snitch while shouting out suggestion to the other players. After he caught the snitch while practicing his Wronski Feints, Harry leveled out his altitude. "Let's wrap this up and go in. I'm COLD!"
"Hear hear!" Dean Thomas shouted, landing he broom very quickly. The Potters and Ron followed quickly, landing at a run and jogging toward the exit, until they saw the three females sitting on the bench, causing a change in direction.
"Hey, Mum, are you looking for Dad?" Harry asked.
"Hi, Sinnient Potter!" Dean called merrily, continuing his pursuit of the exit.
"Why hello my dear cousin-in-law, how are you doing this fine evening?" Burian asked, causing Lily to roll her eyes.
"James had to go home real fast." Lily explained, rising to her feet then jamming her mittened hands into the pockets of her heavy cloak. "He has another Auror trip to go on, and thirty minutes to pack. He promised to meet us back here to say goodbye to you, Harry." The wind blew sharply, stinging everybody's faces.
"I'mmmmm dreaming. Of a WHIIIITE Christmas!" Burian started singing.
"Potters." Lily muttered darkly. Harry shortened his steps to fall into pace with her, everybody unconsciously heading toward the warmth of the castle.
"So Dad will miss Christmas?"
"It appears that way." Lily noted the crestfallen look on Harry's face. "Your friends are all spending Christmas with us, due to their own parents being gone, so you won't be too lonely."
"Yeah." Harry said noncommitedly, both knowing he didn't believe it.
Lily swung an arm around his shoulder, even though he was a good head taller than she was. "If there was any way your father could make it home for Chrismtas, he would be there come hell or high water. But this is his responsibility. Unfortunately, we have to share."
"I know." Harry spoke in the grumbly, sulky tone James used, and Lily found it amazing that two people that barely knew each other could be so alike in mannerisms.
Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Lily were the last two to get to the castle, and as she went to open the door, James tossed it open easily. When he saw Lily go flying about five feet, his face immediately tensed. "Oh Lord, Lils, are you okay?! I didn't know you were right there, or I would-"
"James, I'm fine." Lily said, allowing him to hoist her to a standing position. "You, on the other hand won't be if you get hurt, because I'll kick your rear end from London to the Scottish border."
"Before or after I recover?" James asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Whenever I feel like it."
"Sounds like a deal. But if you even think about pulling any kind of stunt that will land you in jail, I'll kick your rear end to the Scottish border."
"Before or after you bail me out?"
"Probably after so I don't get arrested for helping you break out. Then Harry would have to bail the both of us out." James grinned, then looked serious again. "Are you going to stay here, or with Sirius?"
"James, I don't need a babysitter." Lily said through gritted teeth. "I'm a big girl now, I promise not to choke on my dinner roll."
"Lily." James crossed his arms formidibly over his chest, and Lily mimiced him.
"James. No."
"Will you resume teaching before the break once the formal statment is released?"
"I'm not sure. I'll have to find out how long they set Remus's contract for. And I am most certainly NOT staying with Sirius and Serenity."
"If Remus stays here, you'll have to too."
"Why do you think either Sirius or Remus needs to stay with me? I'm not a five year-old, I'm not an invalid, and I'm not pregnant, hence not in any immediate danger if left alone!"
"I don't want you to be hurt. When I'm not home is a perfect time for Voldemort to come after you."
"So big bad James is the only thing that scares him off?" Lily asked testily.
"Please, I really don't have time to argue with you now. I would feel so much better if I knew you were safe."
"I'll be safe at home." She said stubbornly.
"Okay, we'll handle this the mature way. Rocks, paper, scissors."
"Who do you think you are that you can boss me around like this?"
"Last time I checked, your husband."
"But you can't order me around like I'm some piece of property you own. And you're trying to look out for a good investment. Excellent really, but we won't get into that."
"How about that will be my Christmas present? You can take back whatever you got me, and if you just stay here, safe and sound until Christmas break, I will be satisfied."
"Fine!" Lily sighed, "I can see this is a losing battle anyway.
"Excellent!" James's face noticeably brightened, and Lily rolled her eyes. He turned to Harry, who looked rather disappointed. "Harry, I'm really sorry. That's all I can say. This was supposed to be my vacation, but I guess things don't always turn out the way we expect them to. What about during the Easter holidays we go to some season openers for your favorite quidditch team."
"That'd be great, Dad." Harry said quietly.
James suddenly remembered what his mother had said once. "You'll pay for your own childhood tenfold when you have children of your own." Oh hell. James was in for a holy terror. He wished he could take back some of his sulky pouts, dumb pranks(nevermind that one), or at least a couple tantrums. As he saw the hurt expression on Harry's face, and the lonely one on Lily's, James wished he could have an immediate occupation change, at least for the next two weeks. "Do you two have to look at me like that? I feel bad enough already. Eating Spam by a campfire in the same set of clothes I wore the day before isn't exactly Christmas dinner at Stonehaven."
"I'll be thinking of you when I'm nice and toasty, eating turkey and ham." Lily said dryly, making James smile.
"How kind of you. I wa-"
"POTTER!" Fletcher yelled, stepping outside the door. When he saw them a couple yards away he lowered his volume down. "Er, uh, we need you now. Lupin's going to tell us about the lunar phases we'll be working with, then we're off. It would be best if you heard it too. Two minutes."
"Yeah, Fletch." James turned back to Lily and hugged her. "Be careful."
"Happy Christmas in advance." Lily wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed.
"If there's any way possible, I'll be home for Christmas."
"I know you'll try."
"I'll be there. Will you make a lemon cake just for me? Wait! A gingerbread house! Can you make a gingerbread house?"
Lily laughed softly. "Yes, I'll make you a gingerbread house, moron, in case you get home."
"I'll be there. I promise."
"POTTER!" Fletcher yelled.
"I love you."
"I love you too." Lily returned, reluctantly letting go of her husband.
"Bye, Harry." James grinned uncertainly.
Harry smiled. "Bye, Dad. Happy Christmas."
James walked briskly back inside to meet Fletcher, and the other four followed more slowly.
"That was so sweet!" Ginny whispered to Hermione.
"I know!"
"I found it nauseating." Harry said dryly, stepping between the two girls.
"Shut up." Came the unanimous reply, even from Lily.
"Are you going to McGonagall's office? We're going in that direction." Ginny offered Lily when she paused in the entrance hall.
"No, I'll wait to see James leave."
"How do you know he won't Floo?" Hermione asked.
"That, my dear, is a question you too will be able to answer in a few years. You see, Flooing would be the reasonable thing to do, and men absolutely LOVE doing things the complicated way. It's in their nature." Lily answered matter-of-factly.
"That is very insulting." Harry said, quite miffed.
"You know, the Professor has a point." Hermione agreed.
"That's it, I'm leaving." Harry turned his back and marched toward the stairs that would quickly lead him to the Gryffindor Tower. "I don't have to take this abuse."
"He's more and more like his father every day." Lily sighed.
"God help us all." Minerva McGonagall said, walking up to join them.
The three teenagers continued on their journey to the common room, and McGonagall stayed with Lily.
"So when do you want me back?" Lily asked, smiling slightly.
"Mister Lupin's contract is to finish out the holidays. Of course, I imagine you will be staying in the Deputy Headmistress's quarters since James is gone?"
"Unfortunately, yes. Strict orders from the head hauncho himself."
"I assumed as much. I would encourage you to sit in on a few classes, but leave it to him. He is doing an admirable job. It's quite unfortunate the board of directors booted him in the first place."
"Remus has always got the worst of things, being what he is." Lily agreed.
"The students won't give him the respect he deserves, though, knowing what he is."
"Really, now?" Lily asked, her mind already whirling with ideas.
"I'm slightly afraid. However, we did get a new Transfiguration teacher. I believe she knows you. She's a young lady."
"Really? Who?"
"It's quite peculiar, her name. Some parents come up with the craziest names to go along with the surname. You and James were wise, going with the good old-fashioned name of Harry. It's a strong name. Her name is Sage. Aurora Sage."
"Oh dear." Lily murmured before blackness invaded her vision.
"This is EXACTLY why she needs supervision." James muttered, coming down the stairs at this time, Fletcher and four other Aurors in tow.
"Potter, we have to go now." Mundungus insisted, grabbing the sleeves of James's robes, dragging him towards the heavy doors.
"But, she, I, well-"
"Now."
"Don't worry, Potter, she'll be fine. Just female troubles I reckon!" Minerva said cheerily, waving goodbye. As soon as the door closed behind them, she knelt by Lily, gently shaking her awake.
"Lily? Lily? Lily?"
Lily mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she tried to sit up. "What happened?"
"We were just talking about the new Transfiguration professor, and you fainted. Now what caused that to happen? You're not normally skittish like that. Are you expecing, my dear?"
"No, no, I guess I'm just tired." Lily lied, her mind racing frantically. "When can I meed the new professor?"
"I would say anytime, but you don't seem to be in the meeting condition. Maybe you ought to have Poppy check you over." There was concern written on the new Headmistress's face as she helped Lily stand again.
"I promise you that I'm just fine." Lily smiled at the older woman. "I imagine Professor Sage is in her rooms?"
"Yes, yes, I believe so." McGonagall nodded, watching as Lily took off. Lily sprinted to the Transfiguration room, then knocked sharply on the door that led to the teacher's compartments.
"Yes?"
A woman with coal black hair, drawn back at the nape met her and raised an eyebrow coolly. The woman was exquisitely beautiful, someone who made others turn and look twice. She had pale, white skin with deep blue eyes that shone and sparkled in the light. "May I help you with something? I don't beleive that students are allowed out of their common rooms and dormitories in the evenings."
"I'm Lily Potter." Lily said flatly, her green eyes meeting the taller woman's icily. There was an instant hatred that sparked between the two.
"My apologies. Is there a particular reason that you are here?"
"I thought you were someone else is all." There was a tinge of sadness in Lily's voice, as she turned and walked pridefully out of the classroom.
Lily's mind was in a state of frenzied activity as she tried to sort out the thoughts running through her head.
That most definitely wasn't Aurora Sage.
Open your eyes, moron. Of course it's not.
But they have the same name! It makes sense!
Haven't you ever heard that logic is just a sensible way of getting the wrong answer? Besides, Aurora said she would never see you again.
Maybe she changed her mind.
Don't count on it, sweetheart.
Maybe my life is going to have some major change in it soon.
You can count on that.
What is that supposed to mean?
Nothing, nothing....
Why am I talking to myself anyway?
You tell me and we'll both know!
"GGGRRRRR." Lily growled, aggravated at herself. Maybe her mind was just working way too much overtime. That was definitely it. Unfortunately, her eyes weren't even working at all, which was proved as she ran head on into a solid mass.
"So, whose murder are you planning this time?" Remus asked, picking Lily back up from her new location on the stone floor.
"Pardon?" Lily asked, not really understanding why he was grinning.
"Remember, on James's birthday? You ran into us and hurt your ankle. And you said you were thinking of ways to kill James."
"Oh. I remember, somewhat vaguely, but yeah. This time James is the farthest thing from my mind."
"Now that is a first. I think hell is freezing over as we speak."
"Ha ha."
"I expected to see you pining away, longing for his safe return."
"That would be nice too. What brings you to this part of the castle? Sneaking out for an evening rendezvous with the new Transfiguration professor?" Lily asked playfully, hooking an arm around his elbow as she continued on her way toward's McGonagall's new office.
"You found me out." Remus laughed. "I'm afraid to touch that woman, I might freeze to death."
"I got the arctic blast when I visited her."
"So did James tell you what is going on?" Lily asked, waving slightly to one of the portraits.
"Yeah. Poor guy was about ready to beat himself up over missing Christmas. It's really bothering him."
"I could tell. But, there's nothing we can do about it now. He's gone until he comes home."
"No kidding."
Lily shot him a side-glare. "Anyways, are you staying with us for Christmas? So far everybody and their brother is, so you might as well join in the holiday festivities."
Remus smiled. "I would like that. Christmas is a real devil when you're alone."
"Which is a situation easily remedied if you would get out of your shell."
"My shell keeps me from being hurt."
"It keeps the hurt in, Remus."
"I don't want to talk about this. So...how are you handling Christmas without James?"
Lily managed a small smile after she was silent for a moment. "How do think? That was a rather dumb question. Naturally, I'm completely miserably and highly depressed at the thought of him not being with me for Christmas."
"That good, eh?"
"Generally marvelous." Lily commented dryly, before halting outside of the ominous gargoyles that guarded the headmaster's/mistress's office. "Here we are. I'm going home to get a few things before I return to my living quarters since I'm not capable of taking care of myself."
"He worries about you, Lily." Remus said quietly.
"I know he does. And I know you do too, and it's very sweet of the both of you, as inconvenient as it may be for me."
"How about we talk later?"
"Sure. But when can you squeeze me in between your meetings with the ice queen herself?"
"Will you drop that? And anytime is good for me."
Lily said a cheery 'see you soon' to Minerva as she stepped in her office to disapparate. Once inside her home once again, Lily went upstairs to get her clothes packed, and found a piece of paper tossed on her pillow, undoubtedly by James. She curiously picked it up and smoothed the note out, reading the few lines that were written.
Lily, have Christmas at Stonehaven, if my whole family is here, we won't have enough room. Don't forget to tell Minky or she'll have a fit. If you send her now, she can make sure it is decorated before everybody gets there. And Hermione is staying with us for Christmas, I told her she could. Love James.
Lily laughed out loud at the quickly written note, it was a typical James act. She quickly packed the things she would need the few days at Hogwarts, then packed some more she would want over the holidays at Stonehaven.
"Can Minky help Miss?"
Lily jumped, startled at the sudden presence of Minky in the room. "Yes, as a matter of fact, we will be having many guests at Stonehaven for Christmas. All of James's family, some of Harry's friends, and of course Remus. Could you make sure the house is decorated and cleaned? And rooms prepared. And we'll need a tree, but Harry and I will decorate it. And would you please take this to Stonehaven when you go?" Lily indicated to large suitcase magically packed.
"Yes, Miss." Minky's face broke into a huge grin. "Minky will see Miss Lily later."
"The twenty first is when we'll be arriving." Lily supplied.
"Excellent, Miss." Minky nodded, and scurried out of the room. Lily smiled brightly, her mood improved, and gathered her duffel bag and cloak before walking downstairs and outside to apparate to Hogwarts.
Once again reappearing in the now-headmistress's office, Lily smiled. "Hello again."
"Hi, Lily. I'm sure you know where your rooms are, the Deputy Headmistress's chambers, that is."
"Yes, I do. Thank you." Lily walked to the nicely furnished room at a leisurely pace. Once there, she truly examined it for the first time, finding a small bedroom, smaller sitting room, little work area, bathroom, and a hotpad, which she assumed could be used to make tea and soup. The room, though now vacated, still had a McGonagall aura about it, the walls a clean pale green, the floors carpeted in utilitarian beige. The sofa and chair was upholstered in a floral pattern that quite frankly scared Lily. "Yuck." Lily quickly waved her hand, changing the colors of the fabric. "That makes my stomach churn." After removing all floral patterns from the apartments, Lily decided to visit Remus. After walking through Peeves, tripping over Mrs. Norris, and finally getting her foot stuck in a disappearing step, Lily was quite glad to make it to the Defense Against Dark Arts room. She walked into the adjoining office that led to to the professor's chambers. After her sharp knock, Remus answered.
"You look....harried."
"Actually, I was Peeved, Norrised, and then stepped." Lily growled, flopping on the worn but comfortable sofa. "And now I'm tired. Very tired in fact."
"Excellent joke. Would like tea? I'm having coffee, and I would offer you some if I didn't know that you would throw it in my face."
"I don't know how anybody could drink that stuff."
"After tasting it the way James makes it, I don't blame you. I was scared off for awhile myself. His idea of coffee is only slightly milder than straight whiskey."
"Which leads me to wonder what exactly he puts in it." Lily laughed, accepting a cup of tea from Remus as he poured himself some coffee. "And I'm also wondering what you put in YOUR coffee. That smells awful."
Remus smiled mysteriously. "My apologies, Lily, I'll just drink something else if it's bothering you."
"Please do. I'm sorry to be a hassle, but I'm going to be sick smelling that stuff."
"I completely understand." Remus grinned at her, pouring the coffee down the small sink and getting tea instead.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Lily asked once he sat down in the chair across from her.
"I just think that you aren't fully aware of why James asked you to stay with somebody." Remus shrugged.
"He just thinks of the worst hypothetical scenarios and pretends they could happen." Lily rolled her eyes, "Next thing I know, one of these days I'll sneak up on him, and he'll pin me to the ground barking 'constant vigilance' like Mad-Eye Moody."
Remus started laughing so hard that the tea threatened to splash out of the cup. "Er, that's a rather...interesting approach to things. Your imagination is definitely intact. Actually, I could see James doing that."
Lily couldn't help it as she reluctantly grinned. "I suppose that wasn't as far off base as intended. New scenario: James gouges out his baby blues for independent magical eyes, drinks from a hip flask, and THEN shouts 'constant vigilance'."
"I could still see that too. He would want magic eyes if he could get x-ray vision, he would carry coffee in the hip flask, and sneak around scaring the tar out of people by shouting in their ears. Maybe he's a lot more like old Moody than we thought." Remus was still shaking with glee.
Soon, Lily was convulsed in helpless giggles too, unable of coherent speech at the thought of James hobbling around and shouting 'constant vigilance' in people's faces. The two were still laughing five minutes later when somebody knocked on the door. Remus managed to compose himself enough to answer the door, allowing Lily to see Harry and Ron standing there.
"Er, are we uh, interrupting anything?" Ron asked uncertainly.
"No. Come in, what can I help you with?" Remus asked, allowing them to step in.
"We were wondering if you could elaborate on something that Professor Moody told us o-"
"As in Mad-Eye?" Lily asked, doubled over in laughter.
"Er, yeah."
"Lily, are you going to make it?" Remus asked.
"Just maybe. Oh gosh, can you just see him putting Sneak-o-scopes all over the place?"
Remus started laughing again. "H-H-Harry, wh-what did you wa-want to kn-know?"
"Uhhhhh, it was about the Unforgiveable Curses. I was wanting to know how you use that revival spell and the block that Dad found."
Remus managed to calm down for a couple minutes. "He found the block?"
"Just awhile before I went to jail." Lily called. "He started dancing around the house when he found it. He tried to get me to Avada Kedavra him so he could try it out."
Remus's eyes crinkled with suppressed laughter. "You'll have to ask James how to use it, Harry, I don't know anything about it. But how was that an elaboration?"
"Professor Moody told us you couldn't block it or do anything about it, that constant vigilance-"
"Oh my gosh! How perfect!" Lily was once again laughing uncontrollably
"-was the only way around it." Harry finished, eyeing his mother warily. "Professor, what has she been drinking?"
"Just a weak tea. One time she was like this at your father's birthday party, and he ended up face first in his birthday cake."
"How...scary."
"And abnormal." Ron said, backing out of the room. "
"Bye Mum, Professor." Harry nodded, following Ron out of the room.
"Remus, I'll never be able to think of Mad-Eye Moody without laughing again." Lily grinned once Harry closed the door.
"I second that. Now fack to our serious conversation that you so cleverly evaded."
"Awwwww, Remmie, that's no fun."
"Most likely not. Today, when James and Fletcher came in to ask me about the lunar phases, I noticed how worried James was about you. He doesn't really care if he gets hurt, he knows he can handle it. But he also knows he can't handle it if you get hurt. Especially while he's gone. He is just ensuring his happiness by make sure you're safe."
"Is that all?" Lily asked when he stopped.
"Er, yeah. Why?"
"Just curious. I think I'll leave now and give that some serious reflection." Lily rose to her feet, heading toward the door.
"You're going straight to bed, aren't you?" Remus asked.
"Yep."
'Absolutely wonderful. We're ahead of schedule by some uncanny whim of fate, and by another whim, we are caught in some God-Awful Death Eater training camp. Go figure.' James took in his surroundings, searching for the dozenth time for some way out. But, just as it was ten minutes before, each brick was stuck firmly to the next, each bar carved soundly into stone, each window with barriers covering it.
"This is spiffing, wouldn't you say, Potter?" Fletcher asked from the next cell, able to see James by a small, drilled hole in the stone.
"Absolutely God damn marvelous. I would personally be glad to kick Jergen's sorry ass from wherever the hell here is to the portals of Satan's lair." James gritted his teeth in memory of the Auror-turned Death Eater who had turned on them when he got into actual combat. He sat down on the gunny sack that covered a pile of straw known as the bed. The cell was damp, and smelled of rotten potatoes, unwashed humans, and vomit. "This is EXACTLY how I wanted to spend Christmas, how about you, Fletch."
"You've got a ditto on that one. Even Mavis's cooking is looking good compared to this...stuff they gave us."
James looked at his own dubious stew-type slop they received from what he could tell, once a day if lucky. "No kidding, maybe I need to give them cooking lessons."
Fletcher laughed mirthlessly. "How's the arm holding up?"
He was of course, referring to the arm that James had used to jerk the near unconscious Fletcher away from a cruel Death Eaters knife. The arm in question had gotten a rather deep slice in it. James had torn the hem of his robes to stop the bleeding since he couldn't use magic in the cell without receiving a rather nasty jolt.
"Don't worry, Fletch, it's a long way from my heart." James said falsely. In truth, his arm burned like the devil. He lowered his voice to make it harder for the guards to hear. "So, does anybody know where we're at?"
"No, no they don't. We don't have anybody coming after us to haul us out. All we can do is lie through our teeth and hope we find a way to get out."
At the sound of Fletcher's bleak words, James settled back on the infested makeshift bed. Doing something he had been taught not to do, to resist the temptation no matter how great, he slowly unwrapped the black tape that prevented light glinting from his wedding ring. He looked at the braided platinum ring, a symbol of everything that was in his other life, one that didn't involve jail cells, four inch long wounds, and definitely not Death Eaters. "Fletch? Do you miss Mavis? I know you two don't get along very well, but don't you miss her anyway?" It was one of the few times James had allowed himself to get homesick while he was on one of these journies. It caused his mind to dull and his wits to be clouded, something that could cause capture and death. But, he was already caught, so it didn't really matter.
"James, we don't love each other like you and Lily do. I don't miss her like you do Lily. But I do miss my clean, comfortable house. I kind of miss her bad cooking. Most certainly not her tyrannical ways. But yea, I guess I do. Just a tiny bit though."
James continued staring down at his ring, making it glint in the evening light. He hadn't taken it off since Lily put it on his hand. "Why don't you wear a wedding ring?"
"What's with all the questions? I always thought you were the last one to get restless."
"I usually am."
"We didn't have much money when we got married, and we always said I would get one when we had the funds. I could barely buy Mavis that little solitaire. By the time I could buy one, she didn't care one way or another, and I didn't really either. I guess it's one of those things that mean a lot when you're in love."
"Yeah, I guess." James agreed.
"Why?" There was a touch of sarcasm in Fletcher's voice.
"I don't know. I guess to me it always reminds me that Lily loves me, no matter how bad I mess up." James turned it without really thinking on his finger.
Fletcher and James fell silent again, both thinking their own thoughts, until they heard the door to James's cell open.
A hooded figure stepped in, his face masked by shadows, but his hand glinting with the cold metal of a knife. "Potter." He acknowledged coolly. "Let's make this as easy as possible." A flash of white teeth appeared. "Or we might have a little bloodshed on our hands." He approached James with a smooth glide, pausing in front of him. The figured drew his wand with his left hand, and James couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried.
"So, tell me, where are the Unspeakables keeping The Files of Mantra these days, Potter?" It brought the cold point of the knife about an inch below James's right eye.
"I wouldn't know." James said, adopting the dull voice that stamped out emotion, making it impossible to know if he was speaking the truth.
The knife dug in slightly, bringing drops of blood. "I believe you would."
"No, no, I wouldn't. They don't let just everybody know that kind of thing."
The knife was dragged down a few milimeters.
"We want them. Just tell us where you know they're at."
"No."
A few more milimeters.
As the blood began trickling, a merciful blackness was induced.
Lily woke up screaming. Loud enough to wake the dead, in fact. She automatically slung her left hand out, but it met only the mattress, not James's body. Her right hand clutched the blankets tightly, her knuckles losing color. The terrible dream had left her in a cold sweat, shaking like a leaf, and a distinctly naseaus feeling. Lily ran a hand through her damp hair, breathing shakily. Her eyes darted about the room, half-expecting to seem some ominous figure, knife poised, ready to plunge it into her heart. Seeing nothing, Lily slowly got out of bed, tossing on a bathrobe, and started inspecting every corner of her chambers, just waiting for something to jump out and grab her. She was checking her closet with her door burst open and she screamed again, scared so bad she dropped the shoe in her hand.
"Oh Lord, Remus, you scared me into next week." Lily breathed, leaning back slackly against the wall, closing her eyes a moment.
"What's wrong? I heard you screaming all the way into my room." Remus tucked his raised wand into his robe. "I expected to find You-Know-Who strangling you."
"I had this dream. It was so clear. Unbelievably graphic in nature. James was caught, and people were hurting him. And he was sad and lonely, Remus." Lily's eyes mirrored the sadness James had felt in the dream.
"Lily, come on, it was just a dream. That's it."
"What if it's some sort of telepathic message?"
"There's no way he could already be caught, he left less than seven hours ago." Remus assured her, taking her elbow. "You really ought to go back to bed now and get some rest."
"Do you really think he's okay?"
"Of course, like I said, he couldn't be caught this soon." After she has laid down, Remus pulled the blankets to her stomach. "Have a nice dream this time. You know, in school, James had dreams about yellow canaries quite often, and he was in a good mood the entire day when he did."
"He still does." Lily grinned, her eyes already closing tiredly. "Thank you, Remus."
"Sure, Lils." Remus grinned at her, and by the time the door shut behind him, Lily was asleep again.
Lily knew that the dream was returning, but couldn't help it. The images pushed their way it at the corners of her vision, receding, then blossoming out again.
James was still sitting in the same position as when the Death Eater had put the knife to his face. Only now, the knife was even with his nostrils, a gruesome, two-inch trickling trail of blood left in its wake. James would have swayed due to the blinding pain, except the spell still restricted his movement.
"We'll get the files one day, just make it easier on yourself now, Potter."
"I. Don't. Know. Where. The. God-Forsaken. Papers. Are." James said clearly, wincing on the inside as the knife was dragged down further. That hurt.
"We'll see if you still don't know tomorrow Potter. Maybe a bit of hunger will make you remember."
"I doubt it." James said dryly, feeling his body slacken as the mobilizing spell was removed.
"You okay?" Fletcher asked quietly.
"Yeah. Great."
Lily woke up again, but this time she wasn't screaming, just scared. Each time she fell asleep that night, the dreams returned, continuing in the saga of James and his torture. At various times he was being starved, beaten, cut, or generally taunted. Lily was sick several times from the dreams, so about four the morning she curled up at the foot of the bed in her fox form. After all, foxes didn't dream. That time, when the bright green eyes closed, they didn't bring visions of her tortured husband, just rest.
"Professor Lupin, I tell you, she's gone!" Harry shouted the next evening, dragging Remus into Lily's chambers. "Nobody has seen her all day, you said so herself! I wanted to show her the Prophet article about her pardon!"
Remus began looking around. "I'm sure she's fine, Harry, Lily can take care of herself. And here she it." They found the small red fox curled at the foot of the double bed, sleeping peacefully.
"Er, Professor, in case you didn't notice, THAT'S A FOX, NOT MY MUM!"
"Harry, it's your mother. Lily! Wake up." Remus gently shook the small animal, and the green eyes were awakened. The fox lifted her head from her paws and looked around sleepily, her ears twitching. "It's just Harry and me."
The fox's body lengthened, her face shortening, to reveal a small woman in front of them.
"Awesome." Harry breathed.
"What brings you two here? What time is it?" Lily asked, stretching.
"Six o'clock. I wanted to make sure you saw this." Harry handed her the unrolled Prophet.
One Potter Cleared, Another Condemned
Lily Evans Potter, wife of Unspeakable and Minister of Magic contender, James Harold Potter, was caught at a Death Eater gathering, December second. Mrs. Potter was brought into custody, and held without bail until her trial date, upon which she confessed to having been searching for her supposed daughter, Dominy Potter. In reality, the returned Miss Potter, the child Lily and James Potter hid from the world, was NOT their daughter at all, in fact, the Dominy in our midst today, is a pretender. Ms. Potter faked her own death to join He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and now, a reward of 700,000 galleons is offered to a citizen with any information of the highly dangerous woman's whereabouts.
"Impressive." Lily murmured. "I guess I'm free now."
"So will you be taking over the classes now?" Remus asked.
"Nope, Professor, you're what they got until after Christmas holidays. But I am allowed to drop in if I want. Raise a little hell. Act like James."
"Please don't."
"Okay, I'll refrain."
"Why were you sleeping like a fox, Mum? Do you generally do that?"
"I kept having bad dreams about your father. Foxes don't dream." Lily explained.
"I see. Well, I have quidditch practice in fifteen minutes, so I better get going."
After Harry left, Remus turned to Lily. "You had more dreams?"
"Yes. They were bad, Remus. They were hurting James so badly. They cut his face terribly." Lily felt tears her eyes, then run over.
Remus hugged her comfortingly. "Lily, just relax, you were just dreaming."
"But dreams have meaning." Lily had one hand covering her eyes, trying to block out the memory.
"It probably just means something stupid. If cooking green beans in a dream means you're going to come into money, then seeing a spouse tortured probably means somebody will give you a present within a week."
"That was a bad, Remus, honestly." Lily couldn't help but laugh as she pulled up the collar of her pajamas to wipe her eyes. "I'm okay now. Sorry about the influx of waterworks."
"It's quite acceptable, as long as you promise to keep it to a minimum. Now what about I take you down to the kitchens for dinner?"
Lily wandered onto the quidditch pitch the next evening, the nineteenth, to find the Gryffindor players standing on the pitch in knee-deep snow. She quietly stood in the entrance, hugging her heavy wool and velvet cloak around her, but not bothering to draw the hood up.
"Harry, I know you're captain and all, but this is ignorant! It's colder than the blue blazes out here, and I won't even mention that it's nearly dark! In case you didn't notice, this wet stuff we're standing in, that's snow! Do you know how cold it is out here for this snow to be here? A big whopping zero degrees Celsius! Or, if you prefer, thirty two degrees Fahrenheit!" Ron yelled, shivering.
"Lay off, we need the practice. And if you wouldn't stand in a snow drift, you would be a lot warmer."
"The snow is three feet deep no matter where you stand!"
"Harry, he's right." Burian said. "Let's just have a quick practice. Come on, ol' cousin of mine, let's take it easy."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine. Everybody put in half an hour, then we'll go in. Do the usual drills."
Lily was laughing as she walked back to the castle. Some things were just genetic.
"If it isn't the elusive, yet famous Tiger Lily." A soft, musical, and all together familiar voice bombarded Lily as she stepped in from the bitter cold of the Hogwart's grounds.
Lily just raised her eyebrows, shaking the snow off her clothes.
The raven-haired Aurora Sage mimicked the gesture, waiting on Lily to speak.
"Who are you, and why are you here?" Lily asked.
"That, Tiger Lily is for me to know. And hopefully you won't find out. I'm just here as a...backup, you see. In case things don't go as they are meant to, I am here. It's written in the stars, you know."
"So what are you, half centaur, half Aurora?"
A genuine grin fell upon the woman's face, and the expression seemed achingly familiar to Lily, something she knew so well, but yet couldn't recognize. "Part of that is right. I can see we are alike, as I was told, but it is safer if you don't really know me."
Lily would examine this later since she was still trying to decide why Aurora Sage looked so familiar. Not at all like the other Aurora Sage Gryffindor, but still familiar. She was standing in the same place twenty minutes later, trying to figure it out when the quidditch team came in, five of them being Potters, and it hit Lily. "Oh my gosh!" For a second she thought she was going to faint again, but managed to restrain herself. Then as realization hit her yet again in the face, "NO way."
"What's going on?" The ever-curious Burian questioned.
"I'm legally insane now, that's what." Lily said, running toward the Transfiguration classroom.
Lily barreled into the classroom, finding Aurora grading papers tranquilly. "Who are you?"
"I thought we already went over this." Aurora said mildly.
"You're a Potter, so tell me which one."
"How do you know that?" Aurora asked, looking surprised.
"You look like a Potter. And if you look like a Potter, you're either doing some pretty hefty magic or you're a Potter."
"I don't look anything like the rest of the Potters." The woman said defensively.
"Do you not pay attention to your classes?! There are fifteen near-identical teenagers running around this castle with the same last name! And that would be Potter! And you look just like them." Lily narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on the desk and leaning foward. "How do you explain that coincidence?"
Aurora also narrowed her eyes, but there was a pleased gleam in them. "If you're meant to know, you'll find out shortly. And that is the end of this conversation."
"No, it isn't, Aurora. This conversation won't be over until I am satisfied that you aren't a threat to any of the students here at Hogwarts. Especially Potter students. Especially my son."
"I assure you, I'm not a threat."
Lily was expecting a tense feeling to click in the back of her mind, the one she usually got when somebody was lying and didn't believe their lie. This feeling never came. "Alright", she said slowly, "I believe you." Aurora nodded, and Lily slowly walked out of the room.
On the twentieth, Lily apparated to Hogwarts a little earlier than usual, today was the day that the students would ride the Express back to London for Christmas Holidays. The teachers arrived early to help conduct the mass amounts of students trying to get the same place at the same time. It was also to make sure that excited students didn't take the chance to get back at somebody they didn't especially care for.
Seventh year boys' dormitory...
Harry had been looking forward to this Christmas more than he had any other. This year he would be with his family. As he finished loading his trunk, he spoke the same words to Ron for the millionth time. "This is great! A real Christmas! With parents."
"You are the only teenage boy alive who would say that." Seamus laughed, tossing things carelessly into his trunk. "It would be so cool to stay here. Besides, even with magic, my mum can't properly cook. I'll have lost fifteen pounds by the time break's over."
"Can you imagine how your mum's Christmas dinner will be? If she can cook good meatloaf...oh boy, I can't wait for Christmas turkey." Ron looked like he was already salivating in anticipation of the meal.
"Go ahead and rub it in." Seamus muttered, scowling.
"So, my best pal Remus, when are you coming over?" Lily asked at about eight that morning, standing in the corridor while watching the steady stream of students.
"Depends, when is the first big meal?" Remus grinned brightly.
"How very insulting. Christmas Eve, seven sharp."
"Then I'll be there at five, so I can get in the way."
"Actually, chances are Sirius will be there, so you can contain him."
"How does anybody contain Sirius Black. If Dementors can't keep track of him, I doubt a lone werewolf can keep him from the kitchen."
"I have utmost confidence in you." Lily smiled, then saw Aurora come toward them, pushing the opposite direction of the students.
"What rambunctious children!" Aurora exclaimed, tucking a strand of black hair back into her otherwise immaculate bun. She smiled slightly at Lily, then gave a disapproving glance at the sight of Remus. "I'm the appointed chaperone on the Hogwart's Express. How menial."
Remus looked ready to burst into laughter any moment. "I imagine Minerva forgot that the Queen of Sheba was below chaperoning children on a train of all things!"
Aurora sneered. "Where I come from, werewolves wouldn't be allowed within a twenty mile radius of myself or my family."
"I guess it's a good thing you didn't grow up around here then, isn't it?" Lily interrupted, putting a hand fondly on Remus's shoulder.
Aurora glared at Lily for a moment, then nodded. "If I don't see you before, Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas." Lily and Remus echoed weakly, watching her turn and walk away.
"That woman has some serious mood swing issues she needs to deal with." Remus muttered darkly.
"More like a few dozen."
"On a brighter note, do the Potters still wait until Christmas Eve to put the presents under the tree?"
"Of course. I believe there are about six kids who still believe in Father Christmas." Lily smiled brightly at the thought. "Remus, you really need some kids of your own."
"Is that an offer?" Remus grinned brightly.
"It would be if we didn't have a pesky Potter in the way. Alas, we could always do away with him. You get the rope and I'll get the chloroform."
"Shucks, but if I get caught kidnapping anybody else in a thirty day period, it's the hoosegow for me."
"Then I'll have to retract my offer. Let's go the breakfast, I think most of the kids are already on the train."
Aurora glared at Lily for a moment, then nodded. "If I don't see you before, Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas." Lily and Remus echoed weakly, watching her turn and walk away.
"That woman has some serious mood swing issues she needs to deal with." Remus muttered darkly.
"More like a few dozen."
"On a brighter note, do the Potters still wait until Christmas Eve to put the presents under the tree?"
"Of course. I believe there are about six kids who still believe in Father Christmas." Lily smiled brightly at the thought. "Remus, you really need some kids of your own."
"Is that an offer?" Remus grinned brightly.
"It would be if we didn't have a pesky Potter in the way. Alas, we could always do away with him. You get the rope and I'll get the chloroform."
"Shucks, but if I get caught kidnapping anybody else in a thirty day period, it's the hoosegow for me."
"Then I'll have to retract my offer. Let's go the breakfast, I think most of the kids are already on the train." Lily was still smiling as she walked into the Great Hall and sat by Severus Snape, who was watching Flitwick decorate the Christmas trees. "Hey, Sev, how's life treating you?"
"Fair, could be worse, could be better."
"Hmmm, we've got a Scrooge on our hands, Remmie."
"You hands, Lily, yours."
"Pardon?" Snape asked cluelessly.
"Oh, it's a muggle thing. That's what they call people who aren't in the happy go lucky Christmas mood." Lily said, cheerfully drizzling maple syrup into her oatmeal. "So, do you have some big egg nog spiking plans?"
"Er, uh, no. I'm not much of a refreshment spiker. Potter and Black were more of that sort."
"That's right, Remus, don't let me forget to keep the drinks away from Sirius."
"Sure."
Lily commenced in eating her oatmeal, humming the occasional Christmas song.
"Either you really like Christmas or you're sick."
"You know, Christmas is great. Even knowing James won't be there, I'm still looking forward to it. I wonder if that makes me a bad wife? I think I'll ponder that later, but now, I must pack."
Lily was walking towards McGonagall's office when her vision started blurring, making the suits of armor fly around and the floor meet the ceiling various times.
"Do you know where they're taking us?" James asked Fletcher. "I don't know whatever language they're speaking in. Come to think of it, all I know is enough Spanish to understand when I'm being insulted."
Fletcher yanked absently at his handcuffs as the cloaked figures led them outside in the deep snow. "It's Russian, and they're taking us to the execution room."
"Why don't they just use the killing curse on us?" James asked, absently looking at his surroundings.
"Because that room will most likely be more suitable for trying to torture secrets out of us, dimwit."
"Relax, Fletch, no need to get cranky." James said soothingly, his voice a polar opposite of his true feelings.
"RELAX!" Fletcher hissed. "We are going to be killed unless we give up information we can't give up. We'll be tortured, maimed, maybe even castr-"
"I get the point." James interrupted. "Would you stop being such a ninny? Going hysterical isn't going to get us out of this mess." Nothing short of an act of God will get us out of this mess.
Lily found herself sitting on a sofa in McGonagall's sitting quarters. "What happened?"
"You fainted again. Are you sure you're okay? Poppy really ought to-"
"I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm just going home now, I'll take a little nap, and have a marvelous Christmas. Don't worry, ma'am. Happy Christmas, by the way." Lily said, shakily getting up, and disapparating before she could be contradicted.
"Ouch." Lily muttered to herself as she landed with a thud on the cleanly shoveled sidewalk outside of Stonehaven. This house had a comforting since of familiarity to it, since she had seen it almost everyday of her life until she was eleven. Then she had spent her fair share of time in it. A reluctant grin crept across her face as she remembered getting married here years earlier. Lily got up and waded through twelve inches of snow to the tall fence, where she stood on tip-toe to catch a glimpse of her childhood home. Satisfied, she rubbed her arms to restore heat as she walked toward the tall front doors. Taking out the ornate silver key from her pocket, she smoothly inserted it into the knob, opening the door to reveal the elegant house decked out in it's Christmas finery.
Lily smiled instinctively as she stepped inside the pleasantly toasty house. It brought back all the wonderful memories of childhood. The air smelled like warm baking cinnamon, and the house was as spotless as ever, it seemed Meredith could appear any second.
It had always been Meredith and Anthony's house. Now it was James's house. And hers. She belonged here. In a way, it was more comforting than her own house would have been. She didn't have to worry about Petunias snide remarks, nor her mother's disgusted gaze settling upon her. The only downside was that her father's laughter wouldn't resonate throughout this house, his heavy footfalls wouldn't echo here. Instead, it would be James's laughter bounding throughout the rooms that Harry would remember. And it was her turn to be the grown-up.
Lily's smile remained in place as she walked through various rooms of the house, taking note of the garland hanging along the crown molding, mistletoe hanging from many of the doorways, holly and ivy adding bursts of color to tabletops, candles setting a soft glow to every room, intricately carved antique Nativity sets graced most rooms, and a ten foot Christmas tree, waiting for the Potters to decorate it, dominated the large family room, it's top brushing the high ceiling.
Have a holly, jolly Christmas, it's the best time of the year. I don't know if there'll be snow, but have a cup of cheer!
Lily paused to listen as the soft music switched to another song. The normal throw pillows were exchanged for damask or velvet green, red, or gold ones. Crocheted and knitted afghans, all expertly crafted, were tossed elegantly over chair backs. A miniature Father Christmas waved cheerily from in front of the heavy burgundy drapes that hung in the family room. The fomal dining room had a snow-white lace tablecloth over a forest green one, a massive evergreen, pinecone, ivy, holly, and poinsettia arrangement became the main focal point of the table.
She then went to the second floor, where the family and a portion of guests slept, to make sure the rooms were ready. All the bed-coverings, drapes, and furniture were re-done in holiday colors, a smell of cinnamon invading the senses. Along the corridors and down the sairs, a deep red runner was placed, lending a holiday feeling to the dark wood floors.
Nobody could accuse the Potters of not observing Christmas.
Lily wandered curiously around the house, finally ending up in he second floor family portrait gallery. Lily started nearest the door, which was the most recent, and found the portrait of her and James. There was a blank space on the wall, which suggested of the portrait that had hung in Godric's Hollow, but had been moved for some reason unknown to her. Then, working her way around, Lily ended up at the other side of the horseshoe-shaped room, with only two pictures left. Aurora and Godric's portrait were two positively ancient looking paintings, and next to it, not being any noticeably younger, was the infamous Professor Aurora Sage. The small plaque underneath read Ranier and Aurora Potter
Lily sat down heavily on the floor, trying to sort everything out in her head.
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triuumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethelehem; Come and behold Him, born the King of angels: O come, let us adore Him, o come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
She absently hummed along with the old carol unconsciously as a reprieve for part of her mind. "Why is Aurora's daughter here?" Lily asked aloud, looking around as if the paintings would answer. But of course, these were magical paintings, and the real Aurora Sage Gryffindor's portrait grinned.
"You'll find out, give it time, Tiger Lily. Just relax and have a happy Christmas."
"This is too weird, even for you, Aurora."
"I find it rather mild. Now run along, I believe you need to pick up your son and his friends?"
"What?" Lily glanced down at her watch, then rose upon seeing it was already three o'clock. "Where did the time go?"
The portraits waved a fond farewell to Lily's retreating form. "I suppose I'll find out soon enough." She easily apprated to Diagon Alley, and from there took the short walk to King's Cross. Nonchalantly, Lily blended into the afternoon crowd of people going home for the holidays, carrying parcels snugly in their arms, and disappeared between platforms nine and ten. The medium-sized area was filled with parents waiting for the Hogwart's Express, which still hadn't arrived. Mothers were sitting patiently on benches, trying to get some reading in, or reprimanding their pre-Hogwarts children. Even here, the feeling of Christmas was almost palpable. Little children were lisping, 'Mummy, will you put a Mathilda Doll on my letter to Father Christmas?' or gape-toothed little boys were tugging anxiously at their father's, who were on vacation already, robes 'Dad, what about that new quidditch set?'. A little boy in a red sweater ran into Lily, off-setting her balance and making her tumble gracelessly to the pavement, and his father came in his wake, catching the boy's sweater. "I'm sorry ma'am, wait! You're Lily Potter, aren't you?! Jacob, apologize to Mrs. Potter."
The boy's eyes widened. "Mrs. James?" he breathed in awe, "Wow."
Jacob's father looked embarrassed. "Once again, I'm sorry. Jacob thinks your husband is about the greatest quidditch player of the century, and demands my wife reads articles in The Prophet that have to do with his work."
"That's alright." Lily smiled ruefully, accepting his assistance to her feet. As she did, a slight darkness encroached in her peripheal vision.
"Fletcher, it's now or never." James muttered, "What's it going to be?"
"Now. On my count, one, two, three!"
"Are you alright?"
Lily snapped back to attention. "Yes, fine. Just a little dizzy, but nothing a little nap won't cure." a further excuse wasn't necessary as the Hogwart's Express chugged into the station, a convenient diversion, "Well, look! I better go meet Harry and his friends. Have a nice day, and Happy Christmas!."
Harry and Hermione jumped off the train, opening the doors for the younger students, one of the prefectorial duties. The first years from all four houses eagerly piled out, battering their parents with details of their first semester at Hogwarts. When the train was unloaded, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione started threading their way through the crowd to meet Lily.
"You look worried." Harry observed immediately, noticing his mother's clouded expression. "Did you get news from Dad?"
Lily shook her head. "No, it's most likely nothing, don't worry." She led the four towards Diagon Alley, the nearest Floo fireplace. "Do you want to stay in Diagon Alley for awhile, or would you rather come someday when you would have more time?"
The four students looked at each other, and Ron spoke their decision, "When we have more time."
"That's what I thought." Lily smiled slightly, passing around a small silver pouch of Floo Powder. "The name of the house is Stonehaven."
"Where's that?" Harry questioned, eyeing the powder reluctantly.
"It's the house your father grew up in, the one next door to where I grew up. It's the only one large enough to hold all of the Potters comfortably."
"You mean it's bigger than the other one?" Hermione asked weakly.
"Scarily enough, yes. But to my idea, it's a beautiful place. It's actually where we got married. Are you ready? Here, I'll shrink your trunks." At their nods, Lily waved her hand, making the turnks only about a cubic inch, walked into the fire, shouting 'Stonehaven'.
A short minute later, all five people were reunited in the entrance hall, dusting themselves off.
"So where did you get married at here?" Ginny asked eagerly, finger-combing her touseled hair.
"The gardens. They're very lovely at night in the winter time. The gazebo is heated if you wish to go out there. Let's see, since you're all here the longest, you can have the second floor guest rooms, and Harry, you need to choose which room you want here. If you need James or I while you're here, the Master rooms are entirely on the third floor, everyplace here is open and accesible for your comfort, so feel free to roam. Except James's study, he gets a little testy if you just walk in, so if you wish to make it out in once piece, I reccommend knocking first. The gardens have a muggle-block on them, so you can play quidditch if you want. Christmas Even dinner is at seven, at nine we have Christmas drinks and a gingerbread house, the next morning you can open presents whenever you wake up, pajamas being the accepted attire, and that pretty much covers it. And the tree needs decorated, and I thought we could do that tonight."
Through Lily's monologue, the teenagers had been staring slack-jawed as she led them through the ornate formal parlor to the staircase, then showed them to the section with guest rooms.
"Doesn't a house like this stick out in a muggle neighborhood? I'm guessing this IS a muggle neighborhood since there's a phone and you're a muggle-born."
"Yes, it is a muggle neighborhood, but this house looks just about the same size, only another floor. The rest of it is magical space management from what I understand." After they had chosen their rooms, Lily left them to their own devices, figuring they wouldn't really care to hang around w ith Harry's mother. In fact, she got several photo albums from the atic and took them out to the gazebo with a blanket, flipping through them while swaying gently on the large swing. Lily just started on their wedding album when another redhead came out to join her on the swing.
"May I look too?" Ginny asked, drawing her claok tightly around her.
"Sure, here you go." Lily said, handing her the wedding album. Ginny smiled, and watched the photos in apt amazement, asking questions with each new page.
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