Secrets of the Past

Secrets of the Past-Chapter 1

"Lily, sweetheart, come on. You know I have to do this."

"No, you don't have to do this. You're choosing to. Are you just going to leave me behind like that?"

"I'm not leaving you behind, darling, come here. I'll just be away for a while. Not even that long. Trust me, dear."

James Potter pulled Lily Evans into a hug. Tears streaked down her cheeks. She did not want to lose him to the Dark Lord too. Like all of the people in the papers and on the news. All of them killed at his hand. She didn't want James to go like that. "You promise me you'll be careful," Lily looked up at him.

"I promise." James kissed her on the forehead. "Now I best be getting home. I have a lot of packing to do. I'll call you before I leave tomorrow ok?"

"Ok."

"I know you hate this, honey, but Dumbledore needs all the help he can get."

"Then why won't you let me go?" she asked James.

"I don't want you to get involved in this," he replied.

"Well, you're involved, I don't see why I shouldn't be."

"Don't start this again, Lily," James had a warning tone in his voice.

"Well, James, I don't see why you can jump up and volunteer for this, yet I can't. You're involved, why can't I be?"

"Because I don't want you to," he replied.

"And I don't want you getting involved!" she exclaimed.

"I have to go," He walked towards her apartment door. "I just came over to say good-bye."

"Well, how long will you be?"

"Only a week, should be at least," he replied. "Now, I really have to get going. I'll write to you, I promise."

"James?" she asked.

He turned away from the door and looked at her.

"Please be careful."

He smiled in response and walked out the door.

~*~*~*~

It had been two years since they were out of Hogwarts. The Dark Lord's power was rising. Everyday in the Daily Prophet came news of more tortures, more death of the Muggles. Everyone was living in fear that he might show up at their doorstep at any time. No one bothered to befriend one another anymore, you just couldn't tell who was working for him and who wasn't.

Lily and James were still together, even though they were out of school. They lived close enough to where they could walk to each other's houses and they were thinking of buying their own home soon. Maybe they would eventually marry, maybe they would have a child...

She didn't want to think too far into the future. All of her hopes and dreams could be snapped abruptly by him, he-who-must-not-be-named, Lord Voldemort.

Barely anyone would still speak that evil, cursed name. They were just too frightened, as if they spoke it, he would be summoned to them, ready to kill. He began his rise in the '70's. She remembered her first year of school, where everyone was speaking in hushed whispers about the new Dark Lord. She knew nothing about it then, but eventually, throughout her stay at Hogwarts, she soon found out. She found out about the horrible methods of torture they used on Muggles, about the Death Eaters, about the Dark Mark...

Everyone felt safe at Hogwarts, though. Never once did the Dark Lord attempt to attack Hogwarts. He must know that he was no chance of him beating out Dumbledore yet, and Lily could look back on her years at Hogwarts as the safest years of her life. So carefree they were, and now, out in the real world, everything is different for them.

Every week had brought more tortures, more death, and more followers for Voldemort. And that's how James decided to fight against him. Dumbledore was trying to move people again him, and James was one of the first on his list. Him, Remus, Sirius, and Peter. And now Dumbledore called him away to do god knows what.

She loved that man, yes, but she could also hate him greatly.

And now she was stuck here for a week, with nothing to do. She had just quit her job at the Daily Prophet for a column writer, that pesky Skeeter woman always bugging her. So she might as well at least attempt to find one now. She took the Classified Ads out of the Daily Prophet.

"Hm...Leaky Cauldron dishwasher? Yeah, right," she snorted. "Owl attendant at the local post office. Don't think cleaning up owl crap is what I need right now. Salesperson at Flourish and Blotts. Hey, that doesn't sound too bad. Might even get an employee discount. Okay, robe fitter at Madam Malkin's. Ohhh, even better employee discount." She laughed.

Lily really didn't even need to work. She and James have had a small fortune saved up ever since they won the lottery last year. They were saving that up to hopefully buy a house together someday. There would still be plenty of it left over though. Even though she really didn't need to money, she still would like something to do. She was so bored!

She decided to go to Flourish and Blotts and find a book. A book that would allow her to make something magical, that would allow her to use her magic, since she had been neglecting it lately. Besides the occasional housework, there was really no need for it. Maybe she should join a Wizard's dueling club so she wouldn't forget it all. That could be fun.

Finally, she decided to just go to Diagon Alley and have a shopping spree. Surely James wouldn't miss it if a few Galleons we're gone from their vault. Besides, she wanted to go into Muggle London instead and get more clothes.

Making up her mind, she took a pinch of Floo powder off the mantle and threw it into the fire. "The Leaky Cauldron!" she screamed, before being engulfed by the flames.

~*~*~*~

She caught herself before she stumbled out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. A few heads looked her way, but none really paid attention. She set off around back, tapped her wand against the bricks, and watched as the wall revealed Diagon Alley.

Wizards and Witches were everywhere, running this way and that, some with crying babies and children. She walked towards the snowy white building of Gringotts, past the doubled-doors, and into the hall. She was walking over to the nearest goblin when someone bumped her from behind.

"Sorry, wasn--Sirius! What are you doing here?" she asked the smiling man in front of her.

"Nothing really, just getting some money so I can get repairs done on the bike."

"Ah, the Harley, how's it doing?"

"Not so good, keeps making a funny clinking noise."

"Well, that's bad. Didn't you get summoned to Dumbledore too, though? James said he called for him, so he must have called for you too."

"I don't know, I haven't really been home much lately, and the place is such a wreck, I wouldn't even be able to find a letter if it was dropped there. I'll ask Remus though. Remus!" Sirius bellowed to another man at the counter.

"Yeah?"

"Did you get anything from Dumbledore yet?"

"Nope, why?"

"James did, we're just wondering," he motioned towards Lily.

"Lily dear, how are you?" Remus came up and gave her a hug. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

"So where are you off to?" Remus asked.

"Muggle London. I'm going to go shopping a bit."

Sirius laughed. "Don't spend all of James' money. Got that?"

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say. But I best be going. See you later!" She waved at her old friends and walked up to the goblin.

"Vault 327 please."

"Key?"

"Right here."

"Follow me." The goblin motioned her to the doors that lead down to the vaults and whistled for a cart. One came racing up the tracks. They climbed in and they were off on the rollercoaster ride under London.

Lily loved the cart rides. They reminded her of the roller coasters she used to ride as a child. She remembered one summer where her, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all went to a Theme Park and spent the whole day there. One of the fonder memories of them being together.

"Vault 327," the goblin said, snapping her back into reality.

Lily walked into the vault, scooped up some of the gold, silver, and bronze coins in there, and stepped back into the car to be returned above ground.

The cart stopped and they stepped out.

"I was also wondering if you could change some money for me?" she asked, innocently.

The goblin sighed heavily but said, "Fine, over here."

She waited while he exchanged her money patiently. Finally he gave her the money. "Anything else?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, that you much, dear," she laughed as the goblin put his head down and she walked out of Gringotts. "Time to go shopping!" she said to herself.

~*~*~*~

Muggle London was crowded that day. The lines were long in every store she went to, so she didn't buy that much. A couple of new outfits, and that was it. She opened her apartment door, juggling that bags in her hand, and threw herself onto the couch.

"Nothing like walking around Muggle London for a couple of hours to get you exhausted," she said to herself. She was about to shut her eyes, when she noticed something on the table.

"What's this?" she picked up the letter and read it to herself.

Dear Lily,

Hey there. Hope everything's going well. The reason I was summoned to Dumbledore wasn't anything serious, he just needed help completely something. I want to show you what we came up with. Come to Hogwarts tomorrow, please. This is amazing!

Love,

James

"Well, that answers a lot of questions. I wonder what it is though?" she folded up the letter into her pocket and went into her room to deposit her belongings. She checked the machine for any messages, no one had called though. So she changed into her pajamas and lay in bed, thinking about what James had planned to show her.

"Probably a flying car or something. I swear, boys these days," she thought aloud to herself. "Either that or he's got some giant monster, or a new broomstick, something childish. But still, this is better than him being off on some assignment." She looked up at her canopy, still thinking to herself, when she fell asleep.

~*~*~*~

Beep...beep...beep...

"Urg," Lily groaned, feeling for the snooze button on the clock. She ended up knocking it off the table. "Arg!" she groaned louder this time.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes and looked down at the clock. It read 8:30. She yawned, "Ug, better get going. Then I can get back home again."

She hadn't been to Hogwarts since she left it for her graduation two years ago. She wondered if anything had changed, if the Whomping Willow was still there, or if the giant squid still roamed in the deeps of the lake. Hagrid would probably still be there, that would be a surprise to see him again. And were there any new teachers by any chance? Who knows, maybe they got a new Divination teacher to replace old Trelawney, that old hoot. Always predicting her death in that class...

She dressed and ate quickly, wanting to get there and back soon. She was still wondering about what it was that they had to show her.

She picked up some more Floo Powder and threw it into the fireplace, "Hogwarts!" she yelled before stepping into the green flames.

~*~*~*~

"Uf!" she had landed face first into the carpet in the Great Hall. Looking up nervously, she hoped that no one had seen her. "Phew," she breathed a sigh of relief and started walking. She looked up at the ceiling and saw the sky outside. She had always loved this when she was at Hogwarts. Maybe she could eventually get her apartment ceiling the same way? Wait, no, she didn't want to be constantly looking up at her neighbor's living room all day long.

She felt something touch her shoulder. She whirled around but saw no one there. Heart jumping, she started walking up the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

Something grabbed her from behind. She screamed and turned again just in time to see James pulling off his Invisibility Cloak.

"James!" she screamed, trying to pull away from him. "I hate it when you do that!"

He held on to her and pulled her against him. "I know, that's why I do it."

She rolled her eyes at him, as he pulled her into a quick kiss. "Come on, this way, I want to show you this." James took her hand and led her around to an empty classroom.

"Dumbledore left for a while, but you have to see this." He took her to a table where there was a cover over something. He ripped the cover off dramatically, and looked up at Lily, expecting her to be surprised.

"Er...James...have you been taking your medication again?" she eyed the thing on the table. It was just a small ball, no bigger than a ping-pong ball, but it looked as if it were made out of metal.

James sighed, "Lily, this is an important magical device here. What you're looking at is the first ever time traveling Portkey!" he spread out his hands towards the small ball, for another dramatic effect, but looking up at Lily, he saw he wasn't going to get it.

"What are you going to do with this thing?" Lily asked.

"Well, we can go back into the past, and maybe change some things that shouldn't be happening right now. Like say--"

"Kill he-who-must-not-be-named before he ever came into existence?" Lily suggested and watched his eyebrows go up.

"Well, that too, but I was thinking, you know go back, and well, er--my idea seems kind of pathetic now next to that thanks. But I don't think Dumbledore would go for that."

"Then why did he even make this thing?" Lily folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, I, er--you'll have to ask him that now won't you?"

"James?"

"Yes, Lily?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing is wrong with it!"

"James...."

"Ok, well, we haven't really been able to set the time period you would able to go back to yet. You would just be transported randomly, but Dumbledore thinks you wouldn't be able to go back more than 10 years. That's why you're plan for killing you-know-who wouldn't work," he smiled triumphantly. "Oh, wait, another thing. The Portkey would need to be recharged after you used it. I think about one day for every year you went back. So if you went back ten years, you would have to stay back there for ten days before you could come back home."

"See? I know you too well, don't I?"

"Oh yeah, yeah," he pulled her into another hug and was about to kiss her when somebody cleared their throat behind them.

James stopped mid-kiss, Lily still in his arms. He looked over at the door where the Headmaster was standing patiently, hands together at his waist. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

James smiled sheepishly, "No, that's ok professor. I was just showing Lily the Portkey."

"Ah my dear Lily, wonderful to see you again. So what do you think?"

"Well," she strode over to it, "what are you going to use it for?"

"I don't know, I might give it to the ministry," the Headmaster looked over at James, who just shrugged.

"Can I try it out?" Lily asked.

"NO!" Dumbledore and James both yelled. James tried to grab for her hand but she pulled away, tripped over the table leg and fell onto the table.

"Dumbledore! Do something!" James yelled, but it was too late.

Lily felt something like a hook in her naval pulling her away to another time. And James could only stand there and watch. He looked on helplessly as the table tipped over.

"James--"

"How long?"

"How long what?" the Headmaster replied, sympathetically.

"Until she comes back?"

"I don't know, James, I honestly don't know."