SIRIUS BLACK KNEW that his best friend, James Potter was looking down on him as he processed the scene in front of him. And oh god, how James was shaking his head, conjuring up a few dozen unkindly names for the godfather of his children. Although they were not the only ones in the room, Sirius and Lily Potter were most definitely the center of the attention, unfortunately for the most uncanny of ways. There Lily stood before them, him, covered in blood that was not all her own. In all of their years, it was the first time anyone had seen the infamous Marauder become silent.
James and Lily Potter were turning over in their graves.
Ever since he and his twin sister, Lily Rose Potter, encounter Lord Voldemort again in his full form only months previous, he had changed. He had become easily agitated, snarky and enraged, even. It was entirely not in his nature and he did not know if his sister was enduring the same changes, for he had not seen her since a week after summer vacation had started. Lily had promised to return as soon as she could and in the meanwhile, she would keep it touch.
She had only sent two letters by owl.
Of course, both letters were both unspecific to her whereabouts and what she was doing. They mostly were just to reassure him that she was alright, but that was all. The last letter came almost a month past. It worried him, but more so, angered him. How dare she be so selfish as to leave him alone with the Dursleys once again; leaving him to face with the PTSD aftermath of Cedric Diggory's death and the knowledge of Voldemort's return. He wanted to tell at her, to tell her how selfish and conceited she was for only caring about herself. He wanted to--
And that is exactly how enraged he could become in seconds.
Deep down, past his uncalled anger, Harry was grateful for his dear sister. After all, in the graveyard after Voldemort's uprising, she had unleashed her dark side on him -- a part of her he knew for a fact that she hated, that she feared. Not to mention she also saved his arse numerous times in the bloody Triwizard tournament and saved him from Barry Crouch Jr.'s wrath. The last was the past, however, and he feared their future would be even worse.
Or at least, his own future.
Replaying the horrid events of the Triwizard tournament in his mind, Harry Potter sat on the only unbroken, swaying back and forth all on his lonesome. A little ways away, the residences of Privet Drive were lined up identically and on porch of the house next to the Dursleys, old Mrs. Figg sat on her porch. The elderly woman had babysat Harry countless times when the Dursleys wanted to get rid of them for a while. To his obliviousness, Mrs. Cuffs was watching him, and had even adjusted her rocking chair to keep a better eye on him.
When Harry became too tangled within the trap of his own thoughts, memories; his mind, such as replaying Cedric's death or Voldemort's return in his head, he could only find one escape. He would conjure up a mirage of his sister in his head and actually found comfort in it. When she appeared in his bedroom the first time, she was awaking him from a horrid nightmare. He was more than upset when he discovered she wasn't, in fact, real and was anything but a hallucination. And she always showed at the most opportune times.
"Stop sulking, big brother." spoke the mirage of his sister.
He looked to his right and saw Lily swinging on a swing beside him. He knew he was imagining it, for every swing other than his own was broken. As his own mess of dark hair blew back in the slight breeze, her own fiery hair was still and she looked perfect; that's how he knew she was a figment of his imagination.
Lily was not perfect.
Before Harry could spat at the mirage and demand she go away, for he wanted his real sister, harsh laughter made its way into Harry's ears. He looked up and saw Dudley and his group of friends walking down the path, telling crude jokes.
"Oh," Dudley noticed him. When the chubby Dursley boy noticed him, it only meant one thing and that was that they were going to bother him. "It's you."
"What should we do with him, Big D?" One of his friends asked, showing off his crooked teeth.
The mirage of Lily Potter chuckled beside him, "That nickname is wrong in so many ways."
Harry laughed along with his hallucination, but they didn't know that, "'Big D'? Cool name, but to me, you'll always be Ikkle Diddycums."
His friends cackled.
Dudley's daft face darkened, "Shut up!"
Seeing Dudley's anger, another one of his friends stepped forward as if to punch Harry. Harry glared at him and after a few seconds, the boy faltered under his gaze and retreated back.
"Ooo, tough guy." commented Dudley, "Not so tough in you bed, though, are you?"
Swinging beside him, make-believe Lily held her head in her hand, her body shaking with laughter, "He says such the wrong things."
"What?" queried Harry.
From her porch, Mrs. Figg stood up and hollered to them, "You boys better go home now, or I'll call you parents!"
Upon hearing her threat and knowing very well that she could call each of their parents, who would whoop their arses, they paused and took a few steps back from Harry.
"Always liked that woman." thought the mirage aloud.
Harry looked beside him and scowled at what wasn't there, "Go away."
She put her hands up, "As you wish." And she disappeared like dust in the wind.
"I heard you talking in your sleep, last night. Crying." continued Dudley, mocking him, " 'No, don't kill Cedric, don't kill Cedric! Dad, help me! Heeelp me! He's going to kill me!' Boo-hoo!"
Dudley's gang of friends laughs and Harry visibly balled his fists, "Shut up, Dudley, I'm warning you--"
"Why should I?"
Harry stood and whipped out his wand, directing it at Dudley threateningly, "Because if you don't, I'll turn you into the idiot pig you are!"
"Pigs are actually quite smart." Lily teasing voice brushed past his ear.
"Shut up!" hissed Harry to himself. The boy sall looked at him funnily. Dudley looked at his cousin with terror while his gang of friends laughed at him, oblivious.
"D-Don't you point that thing at me!" spluttered the Dursley boy.
"Not so brave now, are you, Duddykins?" spat Harry, "Now tell your little friends to go away."
They were far from little, but his demand and means of forced persuasion did the trick. Dudley glanced at them out of the corners of his eyes, making sure no to turn his back on Harry and his poised wand, "G-Go home!"
Another one of the boys spoke up, seemingly bewildered, "What?"
"Get out of here!" He demanded with more sternness. Suddenly nervous and confused, the boys edged away and vanished out of sight as they made a quick getaway.
Harry tightened his grip on his wand and glared at Dudley with fourteen years of hatred and rage for his cousin. Dudley looked back at him, his eyes nervously darting from his poised wand to his angered expression. This is it, thought Harry to himself, he could do it right then and there, no matter the consequences. He could settle the score once and for all. After all, the boy deserved it, didn't he? He shoved his head in the toilet countless times, called him names, beat him up, ordered him around and always set his parents on him when he didn't get what he wanted. He was the definition of a spoiled brat--
"Stop." spoke Lily once again, just as before. Harry was becoming sick and tired of thinking her up, but as he stood for a second more, he realized something. He had not been thinking of her. Why would he want her to stop him from turning Dudley into a pig?
"Don't do it." She said, putting her hand on his poised wrist. Much to his surprise, he felt a tingle of magic where her hand would have touched his wrist. Maybe she wasn't a hallucination, after all, but something else.... "Put the wand down, Harry."
Harry did not avert his gaze from Dudley, who was growing more fidgety as every moment passed.
"Now."
Just as Harry began to lower his wand and Dudley was in the middle of letting out a sigh of relief, a sudden cold wind blew through the street and the park, causing them to shiver. As the sky began to darken as if in preparation for a spontaneous storm, the wind blew harder and the mirage of the Potter girl disappeared like dust, only to reappear on his other side. The metal chains on the swings began to freeze over and Harry exhaled, seeing that his breath was tinged with frost. Dudley churned in a circle and looked up at the darkening sky with terror.
"What's happening? What are you doing?!"
"It's not me!" responded Harry and as the Dursley boy began to whimper in fear, "Quiet!"
"Go now, Harry." said the mirage. He looked to follow her gaze towards the end of the street. "Run!"
And that was when Harry saw it. At the end of the street, gliding as smoothly as death in the depths of darkness, it's tattered shadowy robes swaying in the wind, came a Dementor.
"Dudley!" yelled Harry, "Run!"
He whirred around, grabbed his cousin by the arms and dragged him down an alleyway, into a tunnel-like structure. Beyond the mouth of the alleyway was the next street, number Four, Privet Drive.
"Come on!"
This time, Dudley took his word for it and they both broke out into a run. Just as Harry though they could make it, a Dementor drifted into the alleyway in front of them. Harry spotted a fire escape ladder that lead to the roofed and tapped Dudley, pointing to it, when the boy turned and nailed Harry in the jaw. In a daze, Harry stumbled backwards and fell onto his back. His glasses slide off of his face and his wand skidded away from him. Crying, Dudley ran away from Harry, obliviously running straight towards the first dementor.
"Dudley, no!" Harry felt the ground for his glasses but could not find them. His hands scrambled around until his finger found the familiar feel of his wand and he picked it up. The Dementor nearest him close in on him and as he stood, the foul creature was right before him.
"Expecto Patronum!" A wisp of misty light protruded from the type of his wand, almost -- but barely -- forming his Patronus, but it was not enough. Harry stumbled back and gasped as the Dementor closed in for the kill. It was then that the unfortunately familiar, chilling voice of the Dark Lord rang into his ears.
"...Bow to death, Harry...!"
Harry fell to the ground and as the Dementor closed the distance, he heard Dudley scream and looked to see him on his back, the great cloaked head of the other creature bowing to deliver the kiss.
Then, with all his will, he raised his wand once more, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
There was a blinding explosion of light as Harry's patronus bursted from the tip of his wand and blasted the Dementor away from him. Then, with it under his control, he jerked his wand and threw the Dementor into the other, warding them off. Dudley laid on the ground, whimpering and shaking at the attack he did not see, but felt with every fiber. Harry stumbled towards him and hauled him up, slinging his arm around his neck.
"Let's go." said Harry, "C'mon, Dudley."
As Harry moved to put his wand into his pocket, he heard footsteps approaching and wearily looked back to see a small figure approaching. In the dim flickering light of the tunnel, he saw Mrs. Figg wearing a raincoat, dragging along a wheeled-bag. She did not seem the least bit surprised by the scene.
"Don't put away your wand, Harry," She said, much to his surprise, "They might come back."
"Dementors....what next?" muttered Mrs. Figg as she and Harry walked along the street. "The whole world is going topsy-turvy."
"I don't understand," panted Harr and he attempted to support Dudley's weight. He groggily walked along. "How do you--"
"Dumbledore as me to keep an eye on you and your sister."
"Dumbledore? You know Dumbledore?"
"Uh-huh." The woman nodded. "After the death of that Diggory boy last year, did you expect him to let you go around on your own? Good boy, they told me you were intelligent."
Then she became quite serious, "Now, get inside. I expect he'll be in touch soon. Whatever happens, don't leave the house!"
Harry gave her a nod of thanks and used the rest of his strength to drag Dudley to the front door. As he made it, he fumbled for the knob and turned it; their neighborhood was so uncommonly quiet, no one really locked their doors until they went to bed. Harry could already here the static sound of the television and his Aunt, Petunia Dursley, sat in an armchair right in front of it.
"Diddykins?" Harry could here the joy in her voice. That would not last long. "Is that you?"
When she saw Harry lugging her son in, the smile was wiped off of her face.
"Dudley!" She exclaimed, "Vernon, come quick!"
His uncle, Vernon Dursley, stepped away from eating his bowl of pudding to enter the living room and see what the ruckus was about. Harry set Dudley down on the chair Petunia was in and Petunia examined in worriedly. Vernon walked over and confusedly, he did the same.
"Vernon, we have to take him to a hospital!" exclaimed Petunia.
"Who did this to you, boy?" asked Vernon. Slowly and shakily, Dudley raised his hand and pointed at Harry who internally groaned.
"Happy, are we? You've finally done it!" said Vernon, on the verge in anger, "You've finally driven him loopy!"
"Vernon!" exclaimed Petunia in a hushed voice, "Don't say that!"
"Look at him, Petunia! Our boy has gone loopy!" said Vernon, who then turned to Harry, "I've reached my limit, ya hear? This is the last I'm going to take of you and you're nonsense! You're sister, too--"
As his face grew purple with anger, an owl flew in and dropped off a letter. It perched itself on a chair as the envelope fell to the floor and began to shake. He knew what that meant: it was a Howler. The voice that came from it was annoyingly authoritative, too.
"Dear Mr. Potter: the Ministry has received intelligence that at 6:23 this evening, you performed a Patronus charm in the presence of a Muggle. A a clear violation of the decree for the reasonable restriction of underage sorcery, you are hereby expelled from Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." spoke the Howler, "Hoping that you are well, Mathilda Hopkirk."
The Howler then dropped to the floor, having had done its part, and the owl flew out. Harry, taken aback by the news literally just delivered to him, looked at his uncle who had an ugly, but victorious grin on his fat face.
"Justice!" he cackled.
At least one good thing came out of the terrible evening: the Howler wasn't nearly half as bad as Mrs. Weasley's.
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
As the Dursleys tried to discretely shove their son into their car without causing a disturbance or unwanted attention, Harry paced angrily in his small bedroom and punched his dresser. Hedwig the owl, who's cage was on top of it, squawked unpleasantly and Harry sighed, picking up a photo that had fallen. He examined the picture and sighed, for the photogprag depicted a moving scene of him and his sister at the end of last year, covered in colored powder from the Weasley Three's color powder-bombs. Both of them were smiling happily, despite the sadness in their eyes, their cheeks smashed against each other as they hugged each other playfully. He could remember that day so vividly.
The lot of friends made it all the way down to the courtyard just before Hogsmeade when they slowed to a stop, out of breath and laughing. They could hear Mrs. Weasley in the distance, shouting their names. They were all covered in purple and pink and orange and red powder; even Hermione didn't seem to mind.
George looked at his partners in crime and grinned, "Annual prank, complete."
"Hey, Fred--George, wait." said Harry, walking up to them.
"Oh, yeah." remembered Lily.
"What?" They asked. Harry and Lily held out their divided shares of the Triwizard Tournament money, in small sacks of very golden, very expensive coins.
"Take the Triwizard Tournament money." said Harry.
"You're mental." George shook his head disbelievingly. It was a hell of a lot of money.
"You take it and get to inventing. It's for the joke shop." said Harry, "Lily told me about your plans and I think it's a brilliant idea."
Fred looked at his twin, "They are mental."
"If you don't take it, we're throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it." convinced Harry. "But I could do with a few laughs. I've got a feeling we're going to need them more than usual before long."
"And the money is half mine so you have no choice." argued Lily, "I'm one of the Weasley Three."
"Guys..." Fred was speechless.
" Take it or I'll hex you."
"Guys -- thanks." said George. The looks on their faces alone was worth all of it. The twins hugged them and as they pulled away, Mrs. Weasley found them.
"Ah-hah! There you are! Are you insane--" she paused and her eyes found both sacks of money in each of her twin son's hands. She knew what it was and her eyes began to tear up as she looked between both sets of twins. "What's going on here?"
They smiled at her.
▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂
Only hours ago, while he and Dudley Dursley, their cousin, were in the park near their house, two dementors under the control of Voldemort attacked them. Harry had no choice but to use a patronus charm and while he succeeded in warding them off, he had broken one of the biggest rules of the Ministry: no use of magic outside of school.
So, of course, they immediately sent him a Howler, much of it entailing his expulsion from Hogwarts. And not two hours later, he laid in his bed and suffered through the horrid nightmare he had had multiple times. Night had already fallen and the Dursleys had taken Dudley to the hospital to fix him from his dazed state after the encounter with the dementors.
"Harry." called out a blurry voice amid his dream. Harry continue to groan, kicking his blankets off of him.
"Harry!" The voice was becoming clearer.
"Harry Potter, listen to me right now!" His sister's voice drowned out the noises of his nightmare until everything had dimmed.
"Lily?" He panted. How could he hear her in his dream?
"You need to wake up. Now." She demanded of him.
"Where are you? Why haven't you returned?"
"Wake up, Harry." Her voice began to echo in his head, "Wake up! Now!"
Harry Potter jolted awake and scanned his surroundings bewilderedly, only to see that he was back in his bedroom. And to his disappointment, Lily was no where to be found. Just as he readied himself to lay back down onto his pillow, a loud crash of glass shattering echoed from downstairs and yet again, he jumped up. This time, he grabbed his wand from his bedside table and poised it, taking a defensive stance.
Seconds later, he heard the echo of silent footsteps and the lock on his door clicked back and the knob began to slowly turn. When the knob had turned all the way and the door began to creak open just as slowly, Harry's heart pounded in his chest like the banging of drums and the uttering of a spell had just reached the tip of his tongue.
"Watch that," whispered an unfamiliar feminine voice, "Dangerous bit of carpet there..."
"Tonks--for God's sake..." grumbled the familiar gruff voice of Mad-Eye Moody. Harry began to lower his wand as the door opened wider to reveal not one or two, but a group of people -- magic folk.
"Very clean, these Muggles. Bit unnatural..." muttered the strange woman as she peeked in and ignited the tip of her wand. She revealed herself to Harry as a young witch with twinkling eyes and shocking pink hair. "Oh, this is better..."
Harry peered at another stalky silhouette who took a swig from a flask, "Professor Moody? What are you doing here?"
Mad-Eye Moody stepped into the light as he wiped his mouth and grunted at the boy, "Rescuing you, of course."
"Where's your sister?" asked the young witch.
Harry licked his dry lips, "I haven't seen her in weeks."
And it was technically true. He had not seen the real Lily in weeks.
The witch looked at the others. "It's just as we feared. Let's get him to Grimauld place. Now."
The five selected Order members and Harry walked out of the Dursleys house and onto the front lawn, gathering Harry's items. Although he was quite relieved to be around other magical folk, Harry was also very confused.
"But where are we going? If I've been expelled from Hogwarts--"
"You haven't been--not yet, anyway." said Mad-Eye, who then looked at the dark-skinned man standing beside him, "Kingsley you take the point."
"But--the letter said--"
Kingsley Shakelbolt passed Harry, "Dumbledore's persuaded the Minister to suspend your expulsion pending a formal hearing."
"A hearing--?"
"Don't worry, Harry." reassured Nymphadora Tonks, "We'll explain everything when we get back to Headquarters--"
"Shhh!" ushered Mad-Eye, "Not here, Nymphadora!"
Tonks went rigid at the sound of her birth-given name and her pink hued hair magically turned an angry red as she glared at him with a deadly look, "Don't. Call me. Nymphadora!"
Mad-Eye grunted and Harry watched Tonk's hair slowly blend back into its shocking eccentric pink hue. It was already around ten o'clock in the night by then and a few stars lined the navy sky. The half moon, casted way up above them in the sky, allowed its graceful and dim beams to illuminate the night. It reminded Harry of the bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Oh, how he hoped he would be able to see it again.
The few seconds of silence that loomed over them lasted just that long, for as if on instinct, Harry turned toward the house to see a figure apparate in front of it. With flaming red hair and mischievous green eyes, Lily Potter landed ungracefully on the not-so-green lawn, blood oozing from a cut on her lip. Almost as quickly as the five wizards and witch poised their wands, their allowed their wands to drop at their sides.
"What have I missed?" queried Lily, ignoring the fact that her face was bleeding.
"Potter, its good to see you're alive." grunted Mad-Eye.
"And it's good to see that your not actually a sociopathic, psychotic escapee prisoner of Askaban." was her sarcastic reply.
Mad-Eye grunted and turned around, "I like her."
"Where have you been!?" snapped Harry angrily, "I haven't heard from you in weeks!"
"Wonderful to see you, too, big brother."
"Lily."
"Yes, well," she shrugged as he examined her cut lip and bruised jaw, "I had a few run-ins with not so nice people. Deatheaters, mostly."
Before Harry could freak out--
"So you got into a fist fight?" asked Tonks with a raised eyebrow. Everyone was looking at her.
"Not fists. Wood, glass bottles. Ooh, and I did throw a broken chair." said Lily, as a matter of fact.
"You seemed pretty banged up to me." Harry let go of her face and she smirked.
"You should see the other guy."
"How many were there?" questioned Kingsley, "Did they have chance to follow you?"
"Three. And no. I just told you I threw a chair at them. Weren't you listening?" She responded and Mad-Eye cackled to himself. "I apparated out."
"How do you know how to apparate?! Better yet, how have you not been expelled from school?!" asked Harry, "I defended myself against two freaking dementors and I got a howler from the ministry of magic itself!"
"The Ministry of Magic is a corrupted, sniveling, cowardly--" began Lily, much to Kingsley's dismay.
"--She's under special orders and permission." Tonks cut her off.
Confusedly, Harry looked back at his sister who nodded, "I'll be able to explain everything to you in a few hours. I promise."
Lily took her place between Tonks and Harry and one by one, each a broom flew into their hands. Lily grinned and saw Harry was, too. They had never flown in the open air outside of the Quidditch Field or the Burrow before.
As Mad-Eye mounted his broom, "Stay in formation everyone. Don't break ranks if one of us is killed."
"Stop being so cheerful, Madeye--he'll think we're not taking this seriously..." said Tonks, who winked at Harry, nonplussed.
"Tonks." chuckled Lily, "You're making him uncomfortable."
"Sorry, Harry." she apologized.
"Don't worry, Tonks has her eye on another, anyway." She told her and then turned to her friend, "Isn't that right?"
"Shut up."
All at once, the seven figures shot up into the air on their individual brooms and the toy houses fell away beneath them. Harry, for once on that miserable evening, was euphoric and the group soared through the star-strewn sky, all in their own freedom. Mad-Eye nodded to Kingsley and they switched into overdrive, banking towards the glittering and busy sprawl of London.
"Is Dudley okay?" Lily shouted to Harry, nearing him on her broom and they flew.
"What?"
"Dudley! The Dementors! Did he make it out?!"
"How do you know about the--"
"Harry, I've been in you head all summer." yelled Lily over the whistling wind in their ears, "Did you really think you were going mad?"
"Yeah!"
She laughed aloud and as the wind whipped her hair back, she shook her head, the formation dropped low to the river. Hurtling inches above the surface, they whizzed beneath the city's bridges, swerving around barges and speeding past gigantic tourist boats.
On the South bank, a group of skateboarders practiced stunts with the aid of the dim street lamps.
They were having the best times of their lives. It was too bad that would end so soon.
They soon landed at their final destination, a series of compacted apartments. It was a large brick structure with fencing bordered around it and green lawn spanning around to give off a sort of up-kept feeling. A garbage truck was makes late rounds nearby as Harry, Lily and the others crossing a shabby square and followed Mad-Eye to the gate of the apartment building.
"C'mon!" ushered Mad-Eye.
When they had all gathered, they watched as Mad-Eye first scanned their surroundings. When he deemed it fit to proceed, he began tapping his staff on the pavement of the empty street. One, two, three, and then the apartments slowly began to shake, much to the obliviousness of the Muggle inhabitants inside. Slowly, magically, the building began to expand, making way for at least a dozen more apartments. Lily knew it must have been the safe house.
"In you go." Mad-Eye gestured.
Harry and Lily made their way to the front door and walked inside, only to be greeted by a quite a narrow hallway. Lily pushed Harry aside as Mad-Eye pushed past, followed by the others. Kingsley clapped Harry on the shoulder and Tonks winked at him yet again. That time, Lily did not chuckle, but instead turned away so Harry could not see her face.
"Are you alright?" asked Harry.
"Fine." She replied curtly, "Lets just, follow them."
Harry obliged and walked down the hallway, Lily trailing behind him. The five guards entered another room straight towards the end of the hall, where many more people were conversing. They inched towards it and the twins caught a glimpse of none other than Sirius Black, their godfather, along with Remus Lupin and Mr. Weasley. A smile formed on Harry's face but before he could react further, Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway with a bright smile on her face.
"Harry, Lily, my dears!" She shut the door discreetly behind her.
"Mrs. Weasley." Harry exclaimed with a smile.
"Thanks heavens you're alright!" She exclaimed warmly, hugging them both. She then took Harry's face into her hands and examine him, "A bit peaky, the both of you, but dinner will have to wait until after the meeting."
"But, how? What--?"
"No, no time to explain." She cut him off, "Straight upstairs, first door on your left." Harry gestured to the stairs and she nodded, "Yeah."
"I'll be up in a little while." said Lily and although confused, he nodded. "Tell the others I said hello."
Furrowing his eyebrows at her comment, he continued to ascend to stairs until he disappeared behind the bend. Mrs. Weasley looked back at Lily, this time not masking her concern, for she had only done so for Harry's sake, as he knew nothing.
"Are you alright, dear?" Mrs. Weasley examined her bloodied lip. "Let's get in there."
She opened the door and entered. Lily followed suit and as she shut the door behind her, she saw everyone who was in the room. The five guards from before, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape and Arthur Weasley. They all either sat or stood around the large table center in the room, which was meant to be a dining room. They all looked up as the two entered.
"Lily, its good to see you again." greeted Lupin.
"The feeling is mutual. However, I must admit, it's a pity that it is under these..." Lily pressed her back against the door and slid down to the floor, "Circumstances."
Gradually and in the span of seconds, Lily's spell wore off to reveal dark circles beneath her eyes, her bloodied lip and bruised knuckles.
"Dear god." Sirius stood up and raced around the table.
"What happened to you?" asked Remus as they helped her up. She only said one thing and one thing only.
"Don't tell Harry."