Lily shook her head, then her eyes widened as James approached her.
"Lily, I don't want to hurt you, just drink this." James pleaded, grabbing her wrists.
"Hmmnnnnmm." Lily shook her head, mouth clenched shut.
"Lily?"
"Whbleh!" Lily started coughing as the bitter liquid was forced down her throat, and James kept pouring until the flask was emptied. "You low-down, vile, wortheless son of a b....oooooohhhh!" She sighed, a dreamy expression crossing her face.
"Excellent. Now why were you at the Death Eater meeting on December eigth?"
To right the unrightable wrong.
Against her will, words started pouring from Lily's lips. "I was just trying to help her, James! I was going to stop her! Make her change her mind!"
"Stop who?" James asked, watching as Lily curled up on her cot, wrapping her arms around her knees and rocking back and forth.
Lily started sobbing, "Dominy! James, she's the Death Eater that's killing everybody! She's not dead!"
James inhaled sharply, sitting down on the cot also. His daughter, a Death Eater? Impossible!
"I thought you gave her Veritaserum! She's obviously either defying it or gone crazy!" Amos said in wonder.
"I did, and she's telling the truth." James turned to Lily, grabbing her arms. "Lily, our daughter is dead. She died over a month ago."
"James, no she's not! She wasn't really dead!"
"Lily, we took her to a funeral home!"
"That burned down that night! Isn't that a little bit of a coincidence?! It was because she was never really dead! Voldemort got her out! She was working for him all along!"
"What?"
Heavy sobs shook Lily now. "He did something to make everybody think she was dead! The Killing Curse didn't actually hit her! That night, she attacked poor Abner, then set fire to the funeral home. Then she joined Voldemort! How could she?!"
"I don't know." James murmured, feeling like he had just been kicked.
"She attacked Hogwarts! She was the one who killed Albus! I met her on the second floor. She told me all of this, then just...tossed me down the stairs!"
Outside the cell, Sirius and Harry were collapsed on the floor in shock, Amos had his mouth hanging open, and Fletcher was staring in disbelief.
"I told you that you didn't want to know. Dumbledore took the secret with him to his grave. I was ready to do the same thing. Nobody would have known that there was a Potter that went bad."
"Lily, you are a Potter, apparently more so than Dominy." James sighed, leaning his head in his hands.
Lily looked ready to throw up, and James still looked like a little boy who's dog just died. "Can I take Lily home now?" he asked, glancing over to Fletcher.
"Of course. I'll visit you in a couple days to discuss our plan of action. This new information won't be immediately released. Just keep Lily inside until we decide what to do."
"Good. Harry, I'll be at Hogwarts tomorrow night to talk to you, okay?"
"Sure, Dad. Time?"
"Let's make it seven? Will that be before or after your practice?"
"Before. Practice is at eight."
"Alright. Maybe I could watch?"
"You're shameless." Lily muttered.
"That would be great." Harry said enthusiastically, a quick smile breaking before the frown returned.
"Lil? Are you ready to leave?"
"Y-Yes."
"Bye, princess!" Billie called.
"Bye." With James's help, Lily got to her feet, leaning heavily as she moved slowly down the corridor.
Ten minutes later, Lily was still crying into James's robes, only this time in the comfort of their living room.
"Lily, calm down, don't worry. We'll be alright." James soothed, running his hands through her hair.
"Alright? How can anything be alright when our daughter is a Death Eater? She is helping the man we have fought against! The one who killed us! She killed our baby!"
"Yes, I know, Lily. I know. The little girl that we gave up, that we didn't raise, because I thought it was for the best, because stupid, idiot me thought it would keep them safe! They're safe alright! ONE IS A DEATH EATER! You told me several times that it was a stupid idea, but nnoooo, I thought I knew it all. And you know what? Our daughter will have to either be killed in chase, or sent to Azkaban! A Potter in Azkaban!"
"This is EXACTLY why I didn't tell you! You're doing exactly what I knew you would!"
"Well excuse me for feeling like pond sc um! I raised a Death Eater!"
"No, Serenity raised a Death Eater! We gave birth to one!"
Lily and James looked at each other with identical expressions.
"No way, not Serry!" Lily said.
"She's married to Sirius for Pete's sake!" James decided.
Both sat in silent thought for a minute.
"Fifteen years is a long time, James." Lily said softly.
"Enough to change somebody."
"Should we talk to her?"
"I guess. God, I don't know what to do. This is a disaster. Either way, we'll have to disown her."
Lily flinched. "Is that completely necessary?"
"Absolutely. If we do that, it'll lessen the suspicions that we supported her activities."
The next day, James and Lily met Serenity for lunch, ready with a list of questions. As soon as they sat down at the kitchen table, Serenity started speeking. "Sirius told me about what happened. Lily, James, I just can't believe it! I never had a day of trouble with her as a child. She went to a summer camp though, when she was eight. She had been begging to go, it was a muggle one, it was mostly an equestrian camp. She came back with a hellacious attitude, defying me at every turn. I thought maybe she just learned her independence there away from me. Sending her to that camp was the worst mistake I ever made."
"Tell us more." James said, leaning forward.
"About what?" Serenity asked, drinking the tea Lily placed in front of her.
"About Dominy before she went to camp, then about her after she came back." There was a spark of excitement in James's eyes as he conjured some paper and a quill, presumably to take notes.
"Lord strike me down, James Potter taking notes." Lily said sarcastically.
"Hush, this is important stuff we've got here, Foxy my dear." Despite his words, his voice lacked a joking tone. "Would you happen to have pictures?"
"Ummm, yes, I have an album at home. Want me to get them?" Serenity asked, already rising since she could guess the answer.
"I sure do." James murmured, scratching away on the paper, making two wide columns, then two skinny ones. They were labeled before, after, same, different.
"What, may I ask, are you straining your brain to do?"
"This is a highly technical chart. I'm going to examine the traits in Dominy before and after camp, and check the other columns indicating if they're the same or not."
"Why?"
"I'm going to figure out what happened."
After his fifth cup of coffee over a span of three hours, James settled into his office to
examine the five pages of notes he had taken during the conversation with Serenity.
"Does he think he can read that?" Serenity asked Lily, gentilely sipping a cup of lemon tea.
"James is just pretty darn sure he can do anything. I wouldn't put it past him."
"Ha ha, you two are downright hilarious." James said dryly, not looking up from his notes.
"See how ignored I am?" Lily asked.
"Yes, you seem quite neglected." Serenity teased.
"Some days I wonder who I'm married to."
"You know, this is probably one of the first times I've seen James when he's not working...oh wait! That's what he's doing now!"
"Okay you two." James grinned looking up. "Now that Lily could file for divorce on the
grounds of neglect, what is it that you want?"
"What are you trying to find? Exactly? Not a generalized overview formatted for eight
year-olds, but me." Lily said, crossing her arms, a stubborn look settling firmly on her face. James saw it had no intention of leaving.
"I'm hoping to either find that Dominy was approached by Voldemort because he
somehow found out about her, and persuaded her to join. Or, that she is under the imperious curse, and the camp was just a coincidence, and she just became more
independent. After all, time away from parents can change kids. Another possibility is that she's not the real Dominy Potter, and that she is a fake. If that's so, I would wager our daughter is honestly and truly dead, either my Voldemort, or abandonment. My last guess is just that she was bitter because we chose to raise Harry instead of her, and she wanted to get back at us. I never knew how hard my parents had it."
"Especially raising you. Quite the little demon you were." Serenity said.
"Are." Lily corrected.
"If you wouldn't mind, I would prefer to get this sorted out before our golden
anniversary."
"Isn't every one just as special and golden?" Lily asked, pretending to be hurt.
"It feels like fifty alright." James muttered.
"I heard that."
"I know you did."
"Because I just told you."
"Are we getting into one of those pointless, time wasting conversations? Again?"
"Naturally." Lily grinned at him, taking a book from the shelf, flipping it open to the marked spot. She had started three-fourths of the books in his office while sitting in there
with him. "I thought Harry was going to start jumping up and down when you asked to go to his practice."
"Hmmmm, yeah. He's really a good Seeker. Professional material with a few good plays."
"Oh really? Is that James the dad or James H. Potter, quidditch player extraordinaire?"
Lily raised an eyebrow.
"James H. Potter, quidditch player extraordinaire. He's seriously good. He was made to be a seeker. Light builder, good hand-eye coordination, quick thinker."
"Which pleases you to no end?"
"Most definitely. Now be quiet so I can attend to the matter of our other child."
"Yes sir. Serry, pull up a book, James is TRYING to think, so it ought to take a good, long while. We could probably get our hair done and he would still be pondering on this."
"Probably so. Especially at this rate. You two can't leave me alone! Purposely distracting me." James interrupted.
"Because I'm ignored and neglected. I crave conversation."
"And your conversations are always never ending circles, aren't they?"
"Yep." Lily started intricately folding paper, a look on concentration on her face.
"Now Lily's thinking hard."
"Stow it, Potter." Lily grinned, and after he had started examining his notes again, threw
an expertly launched and folded paper airlplane at him.
"What in the hell is this?" James asked when it hit him squarely in the forehead.
"That, my dear James, would be the muggle student's greatest friend, and greatest
annoyance, next to spitballs of course, to teachers. Had you and Sirius known about
them, you would've had a hayday in History of Magic."
"Or in any class for that matter." James said, examening it. "Muggles thought this up?"
"Yeah. It's a reproduction of machines they use to travel in."
"I see? They travel on paper?"
"No, stupid, they fly in big, metal machines. Remember, you were on one when we went
to Salem."
"OOOHHHH!" Enlightenment dawned. "I remember now."
"Don't you have work to do?"
"Er, yeah. No more distractions. Got it?"
"Yes sir."
"That's what you said last time."
"SHHHH. No more distractions. Remebemr?" Lily said sarcastically.
"How about all three of us just shut up?"
"Great." Lily said, getting up.
"I didn't say leave."
"I'm going to go find something to do. I'll see you later."
"With an answer."
"So, Slick, have you came up with something yet?" Lily asked the next morning, walking into James's office, still in pajamas and carrying a cup of orange juice. James, as far as she knew, hadn't left his office for more than five minutes since the evening before, not even to sleep.
"Hmmm, yeahhhh." James yawned, blinking his eyes to attempt to still the fuzzy and blurry words.
"Oh, really, what?" Lily leaned on his shoulders, glass still in hand.
"If you spill that on me, there will be some serious retribution." James threatened, taking a drink.
"Promise?"
"No. As sad as it sounds, I'm too busy. There is just too many options."
"Well, we could do DNA testing. It's a muggle thing, I saw it on television. It's relativitely new and incredibly accurate. Since we still have her things, we could test a strand of her hair out of a hairbrush, and see if it matches ours. That would prove that she is or is not an imposter."
"Or we could do it the good old-fashioned way with magic." James suggested.
"And how would that be?"
"A potion, been around for centuries. But it's hard to make."
"Severus could most likely make it."
"Absolutely not."
James rolled his eyes Heavenward, and Lily guessed he was most likely praying for patience. "I assume that you remember the James Potter rules for sneaking out?"
"Technically, we're sneaking in, and didn't Remus ever tell you that to assume makes an ass out of you and me?" Lily asked, also rising.
"No, that must have been one of your many fascinating conversations when you two were dating."
"SOMEBODY is in a dark mood today. Not mentioning any names....James."
"SOMEBODY is being especially annoying today. Not mentioning any names....Lily."
"Snap snap. That left a mark."
"I'm sure it did. Get dressed so we can go. Hopefully we'll get there after a class has already started."
"I'm not worrying about it. The Master of all Sneakers is my guide."
"Bite me."
"Only once."
"Do you have to have a comeback for everything?"
"Naturally. That's what makes me Lily." knowing she had pushed her luck far enough on James's short temper, Lily skipped down the corridor and upstairs to change into some appropriate sneaking clothes. When she came downstairs again, James was waiting on her.
"You know, I'm not even going to ask." He decided, eyeing her slate-gray clothes.
"This way I will BLEND into the walls. Excellent idea, don't you think?"
"I was just planning on casting an invisibility spell on you."
"And take out the fun? No way, Jose!"
Lily escorted him out the door so they could apparate to Hogsmeade, where they stealthily took a horseless carriage to Hogsmeade.
"This would otherwise be amusing except I feel rather stupid." Lily said, sitting in the floorboard of the carriage.
"I wonder why?" James said dryly, glancing in her direction from his perch in the well-cushioned seat.
"Are you mad?"
"Not especially, why do you ask?"
"Just curious, that's all. You act like you're mad."
"I am rather irritated."
"At who? Me?"
"No, the Easter Bunny."
"How cute! You still believe in him! Her? It?"
"You can lay off the sarcasm any time now."
"That isn't necessary."
"Yes. It is necessary. For my sanity to remain with me."
"Alrighty then. I'll just sit here in my own little floorboard all by my lonesome, not saying a single utterance."
"Starting when?"
"Oh, I don't know. After I ask some questions. First of all, if we're sneaking in there, while classes are going on, how in the world are we going to catch Severus without a class?"
"That's where you do some sneaking. You lurk in the shadows, and I'll go get him. Then, we'll wait somewhere until he can see us."
"Tell him it's for me and he'll be out pronto." Lily smirked, flicking James in the ankle.
"Would you stop it?"
"Nope."
After a rather long trip to Lily's idea, and a rather amusing one to James's, they arrived at Hogwarts. James stepped out of the carriage, then quickly helped Lily out.
"Have you decided this is dumb yet?" James asked conversationally, after dragging Lily out of the shadows to avoid Mrs. Norris.
"Yeah." Lily mumbled, inspecting her bruised elbow. After what seemed to be the never ending walk, they made it outside of the Potions dungeon.
"Now stay here, and try to keep out of trouble." James instructed, placing Lily in some shadows behind a nasty looking gargoyle.
James sauntered nonchalantly into the dungeon, not bothering to knock. Inside, he struggled not to cough as the pungent odor of badly preserved squid hit him.
"Dear God, what are you teaching these kids? How to kill people by suffocating them?" James asked, watching as Snape glided around the room, pointing out trivial mistakes on the Gryffindors, and complimenting each Slytherin. Draco Malfoy smirked as Snape made a rude comment about Harry's potion.
"Potter? What are you doing here?"
"Seeings how I'm on the board, I can stop in anytime I see fit." James returned quickly. "But, I actually have to consult you about something."
"What?" Snape asked sharply, the hardness in his eyes telling James that he thought it had to do with the fight against Voldemort.
"It's a private matter. When can we talk?"
"This class ends in twenty minutes." Severus snapped shortly, but couldn't resist throwing in a sharp barb aimed at James. "You might want to take as seat since you never really managed to comprehend potions."
"I would absolutely LOVE to be in your company in a room that smells like formaldehyde and squid for a WHOLE twenty minutes. Christmas just came early!"
Several people turned to stare as James sat in the seat Hermione usually occupied next to Harry. Seeing two men who could be twins but were father and son wasn't an everyday occurrance for most people.
"So, where's the walking encylocpedia set?" James asked.
"She stayed in the library too late, and forgot that the password would change at midnight, and got locked out. Caught a nasty cold, she did." Ron said, intricately chopping garlic roots.
"I thought you were coming to practice tonight." Harry said, able to hide the sulky tone from his voice to most people, but Lily would have immediately recognized it since it was common with James.
"I am. I had to see the Snape." James answered, idly humming to pass the time. "Does it always smell like this in here?"
"No, Neville tripped and knocked a shelf with preserved...things on it." Ron answered. "What next Harry?"
"Er, uh, let's see. One milimeter of unicorn hair." Harry said, reading the ingredients from the stained potions book.
"What're you making?" James asked.
Harry rolled his eyes. "A quick cleaning potion."
"Autotize?"
"I think so. Why?"
"My mum loved that stuff. She made me clean my room with it."
"Good thing Petunia hasn't heard of it." Harry and James cracked identical grins. James sat silent for awhile, his face devoid of expression which puzzled most people, leading them to think he wasn't paying attention. Neville knocked his cauldron over when James moved as quickly as a striking snake to catch Harry's wrist.
"The zinc powder goes in after the willow roots." He shrugged, returning to his slouch.
"LONGBOTTOM! That's the third time this month!" Snape shouted, hurrying over to clean the mess up before it scorched anything else.
An odd expression crossed James's face as Neville apologized profusely. "Is he always like that?"
"Always." Ron sighed.
At the end of class, Snape went around, testing the potions. "Well, Merlin, get out the record books, a Potter managed to make a potion correctly."
"Maybe if you taught your classes better, the students would have a higher success rate." James said, purposely misunderstanding him.
The glares that the two men exchanged was enough to confirm what people had said about them hating each other.
"Go to hell, Potter." Snape snarled.
"You really should watch your language around impressionable teenagers, but save me a seat, Sev, since I'm sure you'll get there first."
The students stared in disbelief as it appeared that their Potions master would explode any minute.
"He's having a heart attack!" Seamus Finnigan said gleefully.
"I wish." Harry muttered.
"What was that, Potter?" Snape questioned sharply, turning so fast his greasy hair flopped, obviously ready to tear into some fresh Potter meat.
"Er, I was just mentioning that I liked fish. Especially halibut. Dad likes that too, don't you, Dad?"
James looked ready to crack up laughing any moment. "I love halibut. It's a Potter trait, loving halibut is."
"I hate halibut." Snape muttered to no one in particular.
"That's why we like it." James and Harry said at the same time.
"Very, very scary." Seamus Finnigan commented.
"DETENTION POTTER!"
"Alright Harry! Only about fourteen hundred left to go and you can break Sirius's record. You'll really have to step it up a bit, though. I suggest throwing dungbombs in teacher's quarters."
"Cauldron cleaning, a task quite suitable for a Potter." Snape glared.
"Awwwww." Harry groaned.
"A little cleaning never hurt anybody. Scrubbing those cauldrons builds quidditch muscles." James piped up, then muttered to Harry, "Bottle some of that Autotize and toss three drops in each cauldron, then break another jar of some nasty little preserved animal to cover the smell."
"How-"
"That's how Sirius and I set the Hogwarts record for cleaning cauldrons."
Before Harry walked out of that dungeon almost twenty minutes later, he called over his shoulder, "So I'll see you at practice?"
"Wild hippogriffs couldn't keep me away." James returned.
"Harry, my Gran told me some things. Like how your dad was a great Auror and Unspeakable. She said that he was caught quite a few times, but he never gave up secrets, no matter how much bad stuff they did to him. Well...you know, my mum and dad, that happened to them too. I figured I could trust you because of you almost killing You-Know-Who and all. Anyways, they went mad, in St. Mungo's they be. Did something, well, happen to your dad's mind there too?"
"Oh no, from what I gather, he's always been like that." Harry said with a proud grin.
"Hyperactive?" Ron questioned.
"What's going on, Potter?" Snape asked, while stamping around his classroom, righting various messes created by the students.
James steeled himself, drawing up every ounce of will power he contained. "Lily and I need you..." James gritted his teeth, forcing the last word out, "help."
Snape smirked for a good minute. "Lily? What's wrong with her?"
"I'm sure you know she was put in jail. Actually, probably almost everybody knows."
"Yes. It's been a favorite topic of gossip for the students here. It verifies that the Defense position is cursed. I would have never guessed Lily was a Death Eater." Snape shook his head sadly, examining one student's potion.
"She's not." James said shortly. "Dominy is. She wasn't really dead."
"What?"
"That's right. Dominy. And I need you to make a DNA testing potion." James said calmly.
"Are you accusing Lily of cheating on you?"
"NO. I am not. We think that Dominy might not be the real Dominy. We wanted a top quality potion, and you were the person we decided to come to." James looked ready to choke on his words again.
In the end, Lily and James returned to their home with a bubbling flask of a a putrid orange liquid.
"I think I'm going to gag." Lily said for the millionth time, holding the collar of her shirt over her nose.
"Let's just get this over with so we can throw it out." James muttered, holding it at arm's length. Lily nodded and quickly ran upstairs, returning with a brush of Dominy's.
"Well, here we go." She said, dropping it into the flask, causing the potion to change colors rapidly before settling on a light yellow.
"Read that little card there. What does it say yellow means?" James asked, indicating to small piece of paper that Snape handwrote.
"Let's see, yellow means negative, not a match." Lily's eyes grew wide as she looked up to meet James's gaze. "The Dominy staying here wasn't the real one."
"Honestly?" Mundungus Fletcher asked, barging into their kitchen. "I'm sorry, but I don't have time for formalities. I'll be leaving later tonight with a team of Aurors, so I have to ask you this now. Have you decided the public statement you want to be released about Lily being let out?"
James looked at Lily, and she nodded. While Snape was making the potion, they had talked about what they would do either way.
"You can say that Lily was trying to protect Dominy, who we thought was our daughter, but DNA testing proved that she was an imposter."
"Everybody thinks she's dead. What about that?"
"Just mention that she has been sighted. After all, she has been, one of them is dead, and Lily's the other. Also, on the wanted list, don't list her as Potter. Make up some sort of name or anything. I don't care, but she's not a Potter."
"Alright. I think that's everything. I'm off, enjoy the rest of your vacation, and Happy Christmas!" Mundungus said, running back outside to disapparate.
That evening before he was to see Harry, James was flipping through a magazine with quidditch stuff in it as there was a knock at the door. "Do you want me to get it?" He shouted at Lily, who was making dinner.
"Yes!"
James set aside the present-search for Harry to walk into the entrance hall to open the door. "Molly? Arthur? Ummm, nice to see you again."
"Hi James!" Molly said, but there was a distraction lingering in her voice. "Can we come in?"
"We need to ask you a very big favor."
Once Lily was summoned from the kitchen, and the four were in living room, Molly spoke again. "We just got word from Romania. Charlie works with dragon, you know. He caught a Norwegian Ridgeback the wrong direction, and got roughed up pretty badly. He's in the hospital now. He doesn't have anyone over there, no family, just a couple friends."
Arthur took over. "We want to go visit him, but we can't leave Ron alone at Hogwarts for Christmas. The twins aren't there anymore, they're already with Charlie. We-"
"You want to know if Ron can stay with us for Christmas?" James asked.
"Ummm, yes, that would be it." Molly said nervously.
Lily and James looked at eachother, able to reach a decision without talking. "Of course he can stay." Lily said with a smile.
"Thank you so much." Arthur sighed. "If you'll excuse us, we need to be going. Hopefully we'll get there before visiting hours are up."
"Did you find that really odd?" James asked, absently twistly a lock of Lily's hair.
"Extremely so." Lily grinned and her eyes sparkled. "James, one of your followerers is in danger."
"Ha ha. You are hilarious, Red."
"Don't call me Red." Lily muttered, walking back into the kitchen.
"So are you planning on visiting Harry or not?" Lily half shouted two hours later. "It's seven o'clock. Practice starts at seven thirty. That means you need to speed things along here." She nudged her sleeping husband in the ribs.
"Awwww, ten more minutes." James muttered sleepily, throwing an arm over his eyes.
"You said that an hour ago. I would ask you what you've been doing to make you so tired, but you don't have time for the long conversation that could turn out to be."
"I have a sleeping disorder."
"And I'm the Yeti. If you don't get up very quickly, I'll think you're back's hurting, and I'll be forced to make you a doctor's appointment."
"I'm getting up." James groaned reluctantly. "Don't call the doctor."
"Excellent."
James yawned as he stepped out of the only Floo fireplace in Hogwarts. But, instead of meeting an old wizard with long white hair, he saw a stern middle-aged woman with a tight bun and green shawl writing at a desk.
"Why hello, ma'am, fancy seeing you here." James said, already walking towards the door.
"Potter." She nodded reluctantly. "Do try to restrain yourself from mischief and general wreaking of havoc."
"I might be able to do that, Headmistress." James grinned and winked, making her shake her head in disbelief.
"Your son is already on the field, but practice hasn't started yet. I believe he gave up on you."
"Did you?"
McGonagall took of her reading glasses and leaned forward, clasping her hands. "It has been my experience that when James Potter says he will do something, you can depend upon it. It is a general joke that the Gringott's goblins take your word in exchange for gold."
"And that's not at all a bad thing, now is it?"
"No, it's quite the honorable thing. I suggest you go to the pitch now, since your son hasn't had much experience with it, and he gives up hope."
"Yes, I believe I will. Have a nice evening."
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