Chapter 14: Dull City Streets

Who would have thought that things would turn out like this? Lily was looking out of the dirty window to the street below her. She had been away from London for so long that she had all but forgotten what it was like to be in such a bleak city after living in a land that was filled with magic.

She sighed as she rested her forehead against the cool glass, shutting her green eyes as she thought back to what happened after the Task.

*Flashback*

After Lily had been brought up to the hospital wing to be treated along with James and Sirius, she learned that the three of them were the only ones who managed to pass the test. The only other ones who came even remotely close were Alice and Frank, but due to an unforeseeable accident with the salamanders and a nasty fall, neither of them were to be able to accept going.

Lily spent the night in the hospital wing, staring at the night sky through the window as she listened to Sirius snoring in his bed at the other end of the room.

"Hey."

Lily looked over to see that James was sitting up in bed and looking at her before he slipped out from under his covers..

"What is it?" she whispered back as she also pushed herself up.

He walked over to sit on the end of her bed as he said, "Just wondering how you're feeling," he said.

"I'm fine," she lied firmly as she turned her attention back to the window.

"No, you're not," he countered evenly. "What's up?"

"Why would you care?" she asked softly, wishing that he would leave her be so that she could try and focus on what was going on inside her head.

He sighed as he began shaking his head, knowing that now wasn't the time to beat around the bush. So he asked her, rather bluntly, "Look, do you want to go to London or not?" guessing what was wrong. "You used to live there so you'd know your way around there, wouldn't you?"

She noticeably tensed up as she began playing with a stray thread from her blanket before muttering, "Kind of. It's been almost seven years since I last set foot there."

They remained in silence for a while as they seemed unable to come up with anything to say. But then James asked, "You upset that you left?"

Lily could only sigh before she fell back onto her pillows, merely telling him goodnight as she turned away from him, her eyes focused solely on the star-filled sky.

"Alright, I can take a hint," he said, probably guessing that she wasn't going to say anything else right now. "But hey, you know that I'm here, right?"

She didn't respond as she heard his footsteps back to his bed and soon his snores joined in with Sirius until it seemed the two of them were competing over who could snore the loudest.

Lily rolled her eyes as her mind continued on her grim thoughts about what she should do. Could she really go back to London after all that she surely put her family through? She could only imagine just what happened to them after they woke up that morning to see that their youngest daughter was missing. This wasn't the first time the thought of how they might have reacted to her disappearance came to her. Did they think that she was kidnapped or ran away? Did they search all over for her? Were they even upset at all? She had conflicting feelings about how her sister may have reacted, but she knew that she must have hurt her parents in the process. What would she do if she ran into them while she was in London? Would they even like what she was now?

She sighed as she rolled over, burying her head under her pillows, both to try and cast out these dark thoughts and to drown out the sound of the snoring.

The next morning came surprisingly quickly enough. She left the hospital early even she hardly got any sleep despite the fact that she was already so tired from the Task. But she bore with it as the three of them were given a clean bill of health from Madam Pomfrey and were then brought up to Dumbledore's office where he was able to explain why they had designed this whole thing. The news was even worse than she could ever have imagined.

"An old foe is threatening to return to the castle," Dumbledore said gravely after all three of were welcomed into the room, taking their seats in front of his desk. "This foe's name… is Voldemort."

"Voldemort?" James asked with his eyebrows raised. "Stupid name."

Dumbledore's mouth twitched only for a moment before he explained, "I fear that there is much more to this enemy than you can imagine. It's difficult to say right now, but I want you all to know that he will soon launch an attack on the castle."

They stared at him at this rather blunt announcement. It took them all an honest minute for them to be able to come up with anything to say. Naturally, it was Sirius who spoke first, and it was mostly a string of swearwords that would have thrown him into detention had he said them in front of any other teacher than Dumbledore.

"What? Why?" Lily asked, ignoring whatever Sirius said. "We haven't done anything to deserve being attacked, so why's he so interested in us?"

"Yeah, who is this guy?" James demanded hotly. "What makes him think that we're gonna sit back and take it?"

"Like I said, it's one of those things that difficult to explain," Dumbledore sighed as he looked sadly at them all. "He's already at the beginning stages of massing an army, at least that was what our sources have said. It's small for now, but it would be best that we find a way to stop him before he is allowed to grow too strong."

"And you need us there to help you take him out?" Sirius asked at once.

"Yes… in a matter of speaking," Dumbledore informed him. "This is not a game. I fear that Voldemort isn't someone who is known for mercy. Should you face him, I fear that it will most likely end badly."

"Really?" James asked with his eyebrows raised, "Is this guy that strong?"

"Possibly," Dumbledore nodded to the question. "I'm afraid we can't say for sure how strong he is right now. But know that he will continue to grow stronger with each passing day."

"Ok, so… what do you want us to do?" Lily asked in confusion.

"I will be blunt," Dumbledore said as he leaned back in his chair, folding his hands until his fingers were laced together. "We don't wish to open confrontations with him unless we have no choice. We are taking every precaution that we can to increase safety around the castle and town, as well as keeping an eye on the other villages scattered across the land. However, we hope that we can find a way to stop him before he gets too strong. That was when we heard an interesting piece of information."

"How?" Sirius asked, "You have spies in his circle?!"

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at him as he said, "I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But we had just came across some news that may help us. It has come to our attention that Voldemort may have hidden several objects around Europe… we are not sure how many there are just, or what purpose that these items have. But we know for a fact that one of them is hidden in London."

"I see where this is going. You want us to be your delivery boys and girl," Sirius asked sharply, folding his arms and leaning back so that the front legs of his chair were up in the air.

Dumbledore looked firmly at him as he leaned forward to rest his arms on the desk, explaining, "I said so before the Task that this will be your choice. No one will make you do this if you feel that it is beyond you. But seeing how well you three worked together made us all believe that you have what it takes." His blue eyes gazed over at Sirius as he added, "But if you think that this trip is going to be like a vacation then I'm afraid you are in for a very rude awakening."

At the firm tone in his voice, Sirius slowly lowered his chair back onto all fours and was hanging onto every word he was saying; a newfound respect in his eyes as he looked intently back.

"What we are asking of you three will still be very dangerous," Dumbledore informed them all, no trace of kindness or joking in his voice this time. His face was the very picture of seriousness, you could almost feel it in the air as his body seemed to radiate some kind of heat. "There are bound to be traps and obstacles waiting for you. Make no mistake that you may be gone for weeks, maybe even months as you attempt to collect all of these items, which could be seen as dangerous weapons. We will be able to send messages to you on any clues or leads that we happen to come across while you search for these objects, of course. But for the most part, you three will be on your own."

They sat there nervously for a moment as they all gulped simultaneously.

"And you feel that it's important that we do it?" Lily asked slowly and when he looked back at her, she was glad to see a trace of the familiar kindness in his face.

"We have watched you three thrive and grown while you were here," he answered back. "It has been a pleasure and an honor to do so. But you are no longer children who need our protection and guiding hands. You three are brave and talented, as well as trustworthy. We ask you for your help to protect the castle. But like I said all before… the choice is yours. If you agree, I will tell you everything. But only if you feel that you are ready."

*End of Flashback*

Lily opened her eyes and she saw the city below her once again, the cold rain continuing to fall around them. She had only been here for a day but she already missed the mountains and the lake whenever she looked out the window. She missed seeing the trees of the Forbidden Forest and the occasional student go flying by on a broomstick. London just seemed so… dreary, in comparison.

She pushed herself away from the window as she walked around the dirty and moth-eaten carpet of Grimmauld Place. This was a 'safe house' as Dumbledore described it, having been built and left here in London as a sort of outpost. They were told that this place was at the heart of London and it would be where they would be staying during their absence from school. They had been assured that just about every spell of protection had been placed around the house and so long as they didn't tell anyone else the location, then no one would be able to find them.

Lily had left with Sirius and James late the previous evening on the back of broomsticks, arriving just in time to touch down when the sun was beginning to rise. They had been given new clothes to blend with the people here, and had been able to walk through the streets undisturbed. Lily had been given a dark-purple dress, with white gloves and black buckled shoes that hurt her feet—as well as also been given a large hat and long coat to help protect her from the cold. As for the boys, they had both been given suits and top hats along with new coats as well. Were you to look at them now, you could never guess that the three of them had just come from a castle where they had been learning magic.

They had landed down a dark alleyway just as the first rays of sunrise began to warm the buildings and the smell of gas from the street lamps had just begun fading from being lit for so long that night. After taking great care to look around, the three of them began walking down the cold street, and headed to where the house they were going to be living in would be.

They were alone outside for just a short while. Soon, doors and windows were being opened and the first smells of breakfast coming from those rooms began to float in the air. People then began heading out onto the streets, children going off to school, their parents going to work, shopping, or planning to go out and see friends—until the streets were bustling and they felt sardined in the crowd hardly an hour after the sun had fully risen into the sky.

But no one paid the three of them any attention… well, not much. Lily noticed how several young ladies stared after the boys, especially with Sirius… who never wasted a chance to tip his hat to them and they giggled. It couldn't be denied that Sirius was incredibly handsome… she could admit that much.

She eventually noticed that a couple young men were also starting to look over at her, but she wasn't entirely sure why they would be. She reached up to tuck her red hair more under her hat so that she blended in a little more, wanting not to be recognized by anyone. To be honest, she half-expected to meet up with someone that she knew. Right now, her greatest fear was running into her parents or her sister…? Though she knew the odds of that happening were slim to none.

But what would she do if she did run into them? Would they even recognize her? Would she with them?

She kept her head down low, doing her best to remain inconspicuous as they continued walking through the crows. At last, they managed to make it to their 'safe house' in the very center of London. However, it was far from impressive, at least at first.

Number 12 Grimmauld Place was the address that they were given, however, when they first got there, they found the right street, but between numbers 11 and 13… there was nothing. She was worried that they may have the wrong address… at least until the house seemed to blossom out of thin air. They jerked back as the house slowly began to appear, pushing the other buildings on either side of it until it was settled comfortably between numbers 11 and 13. The people around them didn't seem to notice at all though and it seemed that Dumbledore had been right. He said that the protections on the house have bene such that those who cannot use magic won't be able to see it. They had set up all other manner of charms on the house to make sure that they would be the only ones who would be able to get in and house of it without being noticed.

So long as they didn't tell anyone else the exact address of this place, then they won't be able to see it either. All they had to do was not draw attention to themselves. She remembered how she had looked over to the boys as Dumbledore said that and wondered if he really did realize who he was talking to.

Nevertheless, the three of them had gone into the house and their excitement faded when they saw the state of it. It certainly looked like it had been left empty for a long time, with grimy floors and dirty walls… a thick coat of dust covering just about every surface in this place…? It was like they had walked into some kind of morgue and just being in this place was depressing. But that knowledge that they were safe here did help put her mind at ease… though only a little bit. She had picked out her room where she would be given some privacy from the boys, and she slowly sat down on the bed before she began to go through her things. She was given a small bag that had an expansion charm placed on it so that she could fit just about anything in there and never run out of room. She began pulling out her clothes, books, and other personal items that she had packed before leaving… having a feeling that they may be gone for some time.

The last thing that she pulled out, albeit very difficultly, was an empty portrait with a brightly painted background, which she was glad to see did lighten the place up. She walked out into the hallway and set the painting up… a gift having been given to them before they left.

"Professor?" Lily asked as she waited and Dumbledore's painted form came into view.

"Hello, Lily dear," he said, sounding pleasantly surprised to hear from her. "Have you made it to the safe house yet? Are you doing alright?"

She nodded before reassuring him, "We are all just fine. I just thought that I'd let you know that me and the boys made it here to Grimmauld Place in one piece. We're just settling in, but I thought that you might be worried?"

"Of course, and I appreciate you letting me know that," the Dumbledore painting told her kindly. "It's a relief to hear that. Tell me, what do you think of the house, so far?"

"Well…?" she began, not wanting to sound offensive or anything but the fact was that she could smell mold around her…?

"The house is a mess," Dumbledore answered and she laughed slightly before he smiled and added, "I figured that it would be. It hasn't had guests in years. You are free to change it about anyway that you like, but rest assure that it is probably the safest house in all of Europe for you. The only way that anyone else can get in if either one of you three or I tell. The only other people apart from you three that know are the teachers. And we are all doing our best to keep things running as smoothly as possible here."

"Are there people asking questions yet?" Lily asked in worry. "We left just before we got a big test in Potion's class."

"A few of your friends are questioning where you are," Dumbledore acknowledged. "For right now we are passing around the rumor that you three are sick and will be absent from school for a while."

"But they aren't going to believe that forever," Lily pointed out knowingly.

"I know," he nodded back. "Hopefully we will be able to come up with another excuse by then. Or better yet, you three will be able to return quicker than we all hoped for. But I admit that is much to hope for right now."

"Right, you said that you'd be able to tell us where the first object is hidden?" Lily asked curiously and he nodded.

"When you, James and Sirius are settled in, take the painting down to the kitchen," he instructed. "I will then be able to tell you more about the first location, as well as the object that you will be sent to retrieve."

She nodded in understanding, promising that they have things all taken care of for now, and watched as he walked right out of the portrait. Lily sighed before she went back into her room, after hearing the boys on the floor below her already making excited cries about being in a new place. She shut the door behind her as she got a look around the dusty room, trying to figure out where she should start.

Knowing that the boys will be busy entertaining themselves with the house for at least a good hour or so, Lily pulled out her wand and was able to clear up the dust around her. She then was about to tuck it back into her pocket before she realized that Dumbledore had given them permission to change things about…?

She smiled as she held up her wand once more and whispered, "I'm thinking… some color."

*An hour later*

Lily finally tucked her wand away as she looked about her new 'room' with a proud smile. To think that it would take a normal person days to be able to do what she did in an hour. Long gone was the dingy, dirty, and closed-up little room and hello to a large one with bright colors on the walls. Not that you could really see the walls though since she also put up Hogwarts banners and pictures of her and her friends all around her. There was a bright fire in the fireplace and a couple scarlet-red chairs with gold trimmings set up in front of it and a table with some of her books already sitting on top, ready to be read. She also changed her bed so that it was larger and had clean curtains hanging from the four posters, with the blankets neatly made.

Her clothes were all put away in a wardrobe, both her robes and the normal dresses and hats that she had been given before she left Hogwarts. Then there was her favorite part… set up under the window was a window seat… just like the one that she had when she was little. She looked at it fondly for a moment before she walked over and sat down, looking back down to the dark town below her.

"It's still raining…" she whispered softly to no one in particular, before she looked up to the sky, wondering how the sky looked right now above the castle. She shook her head hard before she gave herself a slap on her cheeks, reminding herself that this was only temporary. She could do this… no one made her come back after all… she freely chose to come here on her own.

But still, she couldn't help but feel the pangs of fear as she moved her feet up onto the seat and she wrapped her arms around her knees as she tried to control the knots in her stomach. That was when she heard a knock and she looked up as James stuck his untidy, black hair into the room. When he got a good look around, he let out a long whistle as he said, "Nice… and to think that me and Sirius went to town on ours?"

"You know, there's plenty of room," Lily pointed out, "Why are you and Sirius sharing a room?"

"Why not?" James asked as he opened the door, but didn't dare step over the threshold. "I see that you had fun here."

She shrugged a little before looking back out the window and added, "Feels more comfortable this way. Dumbledore said that we could do what we wanted so I thought I'd cheer myself up."

"Well, good for you," James said before she realized that he still hadn't moved and looked back.

"Why are you just standing there?" she asked curiously.

"Well… it's your room," he said, sounding uncharacteristically awkward. "I mean… we… me and Sirius, I mean… want you to feel comfortable here to. So…?"

Ah, he was just giving her space, letting her know that this was her room and they respected that.

"Thank you," she said. "And… I guess you can come in. Just this once though, don't get used to it."

"Right, right," he said as he gave a dramatic leap across the room and jumped up onto the window seat and gave her a grin as she rolled her eyes at him. "This takes me back."

She arched an eyebrows at him, not sure she understood as he added, "You used to sit on a window seat as you told stories, remember?"

Lily stared at him before she could feel her ears burn in embarrassment as she glanced back to the window.

"That's right… now that I think about it, I really hadn't had a chance to tell stories for awhile, have I?" she asked. When did that stop? She was so caught up in learning all that she could about a new world that she didn't stop to think about how she hadn't told one of her stories in a long, long time. Maybe that was she knew that some of her stories were so outrageous… even in a land full of magic, that she couldn't bring herself to go back to them.

"Hey, how about you tell one now?" he asked, giving her a playful poke.

She thought that over before saying, "How about after dinner?"

"Dinner? Ohh! You mean we have food in this dump?!"

They looked up to see Sirius poking his handsome head into the room with that grin. "I'm starving!"

"Of course you are," James laughed as he jumped down from the window seat. "Because we all know that your one true love is your stomach."

"Hey, when it comes to love, there's no such thing as ridiculous," he said as he went out of the room, already heading for the stairs.

Lily chuckled as she got up and followed the boys, stopping only to retrieve the portrait she had hung in the hallway so that she could carry it downstairs. The kitchen was dark and dreary, but she lit a small fire in the grate before she hung the portrait over the dining table and called for Dumbledore. He soon appeared, smiling down at them all when he did.

"Hey, Proff!" Sirius called cheekily, before realizing he was talking to the Headmaster and cleared his throat before adding in a more respectful tone, "Ah… I mean, Professor."

"Ok, so we're all here," James said as he leaned back in his chair as he gazed up at him. "So, what do we do now?"

"Yes, but before we go any further," Dumbledore told them and at that moment a House-Elf, one of the creatures who serves the meals at Hogwarts appeared before them.

"This is Kreacher," Dumbledore said as he introduced the old creature. "He will be able to bring you your meals as you stay here."

Kreacher bowed low before Dumbledore went on, "I am expecting you all to follow the rules that I set in place for you. And he was looking firmly to James and Sirius as he said that and added, "Yes, boys, I mean you two especially. This isn't school, so you will be risking much more than a detention. I set these rules up so that I can help keep you safe."

They nodded, but Lily could have sworn that she saw a glint of mischief in the boy's eyes anyway and made a note to keep a close watch on them. Dumbledore then went on, "You are to keep to the house as much as possible. You are not to perform magic in front of the people of London nor to tell them where you are from…"

"Who would believe us?" Sirius asked with a grin before Dumbledore gave him a firm look, which shut him up at once.

"I am afraid that you will find it difficult to trust people while you are here," he confessed. "Like I said to you all in our last meeting, there are some things that must not be underestimated."

"Does that mean you know where the first weapon is hidden?" Lily asked at once.

"We have a led," Dumbledore informed her. "We believe that the first item is currently being held in an art gallery not too far from where you all are."

"An art gallery?" Sirius asked with his eyebrows raised. "As in a museum?"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "We are not sure of what the object is, only of where it is. The item is inside this particular gallery and you must find it and steal it away from them."

"Steal?" Lily asked slowly, not liking that.

"I know that it's not a pleasant thought," Dumbledore said. "But I doubt that they will listen to us if we try to explain why we need the object."

"But how are we supposed to know which one it is?" James pointed out at once. "It could be anything."

"That is where my gift to you all will come in handy," Dumbledore said as Kreacher came up to them suddenly and magically produced a small box for them. He set it on the table for them as they began staring at it worriedly, like they were all expecting something to explode out of it. But James bravely reached over to open it up to see what was inside. There were three objects… what looked like a cigar lighter, an old book, and a worn-out looking snitch that she had seen being played with some of the students outside on the weekends. They each took one of the three objects and looked them over before Dumbledore gave them instructions.

"The Deluminator will be able to inform you when you are near a dark object," Dumbledore explained to Sirius who was turning the cigar lighter over in his hands curiously. "Look at it now."

Sirius blinked before he held it up and clicked it. That was when a single bluish, pulsating light appeared at the end and covered everything in a bright glow.

"Wicked," Sirius said as he looked at it.

"When the light fades, you will know that you are near the dark object," Dumbledore explained before he looked to the book that was in Lily's hands and added, "The book will be able to create a perfect map and outline of any building. Should someone who can't use it read it, it will look like a book of children stories."

Lily opened the book and found Grimmauld place. Ink spread across the pages, crisscrossing and connecting until the very blueprints of the building appeared. The best part was of when she saw three little dots in the room that was labeled 'kitchen' and each one had been given one of their names. She grinned in wonder at it, wanting to have a chance to go over it later and discover how it worked.

"As for the Snitch, it will be able to open up and you can store the weapon until you return here," Dumbledore finished as James looked over the Snitch. "I will give you further instruction on how to destroy the weapon then."

James looked down at the tiny golden ball with bafflement, already inspecting it for a way to open.

"I will leave how you go about retrieving the item to you three," Dumbledore informed them. "Should you need anything at all, please contact me through this."

They agreed, promising to keep him updated and thanked him for all that he had done. Afterwards, his painted self went walking right out of the painting, leaving them to think about what they just learned.

Afterwards , Kreacher came in with a large pot of stew for dinner, which was so heavy for him that he had to kind of… bump it along the ground until he stopped to catch his breath and used his magic to carry it the rest of the way to the table before serving them. The smell of a rich, vegetable broth filled the entire room, making even this grim and dreary house seem more warm and inviting. She felt much better about this whole thing as soon as she took her first sip, full of flavor and warming her to the tips of her fingers and toes.

They came up with the first part of their plan as they ate. Tomorrow they would go to the museum and just have a look around the place. Since it was unlikely that they would run into any potential enemies during the day, it seemed the safest way to go about it and see if they could get a guess as to what this 'weapon' was supposed to be.

Lily already found the address to the museum in the book, and was already thinking off the best disguises and the route they would take tomorrow since it was pretty far and flying was out of the question. She decided to change the color of her hair tomorrow since it wouldn't stand out nearly as much as her bright red color, and the boys already came up with a cover story should anyone ask who they were or if they were caught with any of their 'gifts' from Dumbledore.

James would be an avid collector, who just arrived in town with his brother, Sirius—who was a smoker who was considering on quitting, and they ran into an aspiring author who was looking for inspiration for a book she was writing and would be taking notes in her own personal journal as she walked through the museum. All in all, Lily thought that they came up with a pretty believable story and felt that they could pull this off.

They would leave first thing in the morning and would be taking a nearby trolley over to the museum so they should get some sleep tonight. The plans had all been made, they discussed to come up with their next course of action after seeing the museum in person.

Lily bade the boys a good night before she went wearily up to her room. However, before going to the bed, she went back to the window and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest as she sat there and stared outside at the dark city.

Lily soon found herself staring at the rain hitting her window as she sat there and found the sound rather soothing. Most of the rain had stopped now, but there was still a storm going on inside her heart as she continued thinking over the fact that she was, once again, in the same city as her family. Or maybe not? It is possible that her parents and sister ended up moving out of their old house after she ran away.

She thought of the book and was suddenly tempted to look at it and see if she could get her old house on it, but was afraid of knowing the answer. She hugged herself tightly as she tried to figure out what she should do… what was the best thing that she could do? On one hand, she could go back to her old house and see her family again, if they were still there, but what then? She knew she wouldn't be able to stay with them? And they would be demanding to know where she had been all these years…?

She could show them her wand and the magic she could use with it…? But would they still accept her for who she was and what she had become? Could they forgive her for what she did? And there's also the chance that they had accepted the fact that she was gone and came to terms with that long ago? She was scared of what she would find.

"You still trying to figure out if you should go home?" James's voice asked and she jumped, looking up at the door to see his head sticking into the room. She had been so lost in thought that she didn't hear him knock.

"Go… home…?" she repeated, trying to grasp what he just said and he sighed. But he patiently waited before she gave him permission to enter. He quietly came inside and sat in one of the armchairs in front of the glowing embers in the fireplace.

"You're wondering if you should go back to your parents' house and see them?" he asked knowingly and she stared at him, her feet moving back to brush against the carpet and she was halfway to getting up.

"How did you…?" she began but he started to chuckle.

"If it were me, I'd be wondering the same thing," he confessed. "Hey, it's only natural, seeing how you were 'kidnapped' almost seven years ago by a weirdo on a broom."

Lily leaned back against the wall of the window seat as she looked at him. "You never kidnapped me," she reminded him. "You made me an offer that I couldn't say no to. I left willingly and I never looked back."

"But now you want to go home?" he asked as she sighed, shutting her eyes and rubbing her temples, feeling a headache beginning to form.

"Yes… and no," she confessed as she thought it over for a moment. "I miss them. And I want to see them again."

"But…?" he interrupted slowly.

"But I'm happy at Hogwarts. I'm not sure what I want to do once I'm finished with my schooling yet…? But I don't regret that I went with you," she confessed. "The thing is, I know that I will have to choose which world I want to live in, because I know I can't have both. I want to live at Hogwarts…? But I want to see my family again, just once."

"So… why don't you go home and tell them all that?" James offered and she shook her head.

"I know I should… that I should at least explain to them that I wasn't kidnapped. I want them to understand why I ran away and how sorry I am for whatever I put them through…?" she sighed mournfully.

"Do you want to go over and check up on them?" James asked her slowly. "You don't have to let them know it's you. You can easily disguise yourself…?"

"But that's the thing…" she whispered back as she looked at him imploringly. "I'm not sure I could resist telling them it's me if I do see them. I'm just trying to figure out what I should do, and that's when you came in."

"Ok," he said as he leaned back in his chair as he continued thinking. "Hey," he said, his eyes lighting up as he came up with an idea. "How about I go over instead? I could just pretend to be new in the area and ask for directions?"

She looked up in surprise as she asked, "What?"

"Yeah, they don't know who I am or anything, right?" he pointed out excitedly. "I could just be new in town and just walk up to them and ask if they could give me directions. And then I'll start talking to them…?"

"And randomly ask them if they have a missing daughter?" Lily asked with her eyebrows raised. "Won't that raise a few questions?"

"Oh, ye of little faith," James informed her. "I know my way with words. I can talk to them and make it seem like they in charge of the whole talk. I won't say anything about you or Hogwarts, or anything about that. Just strike up a conversation and see what they have to say?"

Lily frowned as she thought that over. To be honest, she was greatly tempted by the idea…? But she wasn't sure if this was the best way. Didn't her family deserve better than that?

"You don't have to make up your mind right now," James reassured her. "It's just an idea. How about we focus on the museum tomorrow, instead, alright? And once that's taken care of, then you can give me an answer?"

Lily slowly nodded as she realized that he was right. Now wasn't the best time for her to be worrying about things like that right now. Once they got the 'weapon' and see if safely destroyed, then she could give more thought to her family.

"Alright," she said, forcing a smile. "James… thanks a lot. For listening. I'll give you my answer later. But, tell me, when did you get so understanding?"

He flashed a grin at her as he waggled his eyebrows as he said in a hushed tone, "A guy's got to have some secrets, doesn't he?"

Lily rolled her eyes, feeling more of a natural smile coming to her mouth as she yawned out, starting to feel tired.

"So, how about a bedtime story?" James asked suddenly. Lily glanced back up at him in surprise before remembering she did promise him something like that, didn't she? Well, she supposed it would be a nice way to thank him for listening to her.

"Alright," she agreed as she leaned her back against the wall as the moonlight shone in the room, bathing them in a silvery glow, casting her mind about to a good story. That was when she remembered Kreacher heaving that heavy pot of soup and she grinned.

"Once upon a time…" she began as she laughed at the idea that popped into her head. "No wait… before that… a title… The Wizard and the Hopping Pot."