Secrets of the Past

Secrets of the Past-Chapter 6

Lily sat in her bed, half-awake, listening to Nelly bustle around in her room. From the sound of it, she was picking up the clothing Lily had worn yesterday. Lily was still wearing her green robe she always wore whenever she slept. She was just getting ready to hear the elf's high-pitched voice chirp below to wake her up when, instead, she heard the door open and close.

She sat up, slightly confused. Usually they have me up at the crack of dawn, she thought to herself as she drew back the hangings of her bed. Searching through the bed sheets, she found her slippers and put them on her feet. Guess I'll just get up by myself then, eh? She asked herself as she trod silently to the door. She could still feel the cold stone underneath her feet. He really needs central heating and cooling. Lily smiled and made her way down to the dining room.

~*~*~*~

"Master, it's 8:00, should I wake Miss now?" Nelly piped to Terrence.

"No, let her have a bit of a lie-in today. We don't need to leave anytime soon," he replied, in between sips of tea. He was reading today's issue of The Daily Prophet. A headline on the front of the page screamed in bold letters 'More Attacks On Muggles' with a moving photograph of a Muggle town underlying it.

"Of course, Master," Nelly bowed low out of the room.

Terrence continued to read the paper, sipping his tea every now and then. Phrases jumped out at him like, '...looks to be the uprising of a dark era...' and 'There have been no suspects linked to the attacks...' He smiled to himself. Perfect, he thought, just according to plan.

He was still reading when he heard footsteps outside the room. Assuming it was Nelly, he hollered, "Nelly, is breakfast almost finished?"

Then Lily stood in the doorway in her green robe she was so fond of. "How would I know?" she said. "Last time I checked I wasn't the house-elf here."

"Ah, Lily dear. I thought you were still sleeping. Come in, have a seat," he gestured to the chair across from him, closest to the fireplace.

Lily looked at the seat thankfully and sat down. Terrence folded up the paper and put it off to the side.

"What was the paper about?" Lily asked, as she tried to move for a better view of it.

"Ah, the same old, same old. Who's in line for then next Minister of Magic, and which Quidditch team beat which."

"Ah, okay," she replied, but her brow was furrowed in thought.

Now would be a good time to change the subject, Terrence thought to himself. "So, Lily m'dear, what kind of robe are you thinking of wearing to my ball?"

"Oh, I haven't a clue," she laughed. "I haven't really dressed up much in my life, so I don't really know."

"No problem, we'll have something perfect for you I'm sure," he flashed her a smile and saw the blush rising on her face. He enjoyed the effect he had on her. She might be in love with another man, he thought to himself, but apparently she does still have some feelings for me.

Lily tried to hide her face rather unsuccessfully when, thankfully, Nelly appeared with their breakfast.

"Ah, Nelly, wonderful as usual I presume?" Richards asked the elf.

"I is hoping so, Master," Nelly bowed as she placed a plate in front of Terrence.

"It always is, Nelly," Lily smiled.

"Thank you, Miss," the elf brought another plate and set it in front of her. "Anything I can get you to drink, Miss?"

"Orange juice, if you will Nelly," Lily replied, and the house-elf left immediately to retrieve it. "I really like that one," Lily said as soon as Nelly was out of earshot.

"One what?" Terrence said in between a mouthful of scrambled eggs. A little trickled down the front of his mouth and Lily laughed. He flashed her that grin once more that made her melt at the knees and wiped his face off.

"Nelly, you git," she said, laughingly.

"Ah, yes, Nelly. Her family has been here for ages," he replied.

"I like her, I hope you always treat her this nicely and not just because you have a guest," she looked at him warningly.

He looked at her face and almost laughed out loud. "Of course I always treat her like this."

"Well, just wondering," Lily looked faintly embarrassed, but he decided to ignore it.

They ate in silence for sometime, Nelly had returned with Lily's orange juice and refill of tea for Terrence. They both thanked her politely before she headed back out and gave them some privacy. Lily pretended not to notice all of the glances he was shooting her way throughout breakfast and decided to fixate her full attention on her plate.

Terrence saw her averting her eyes from his every time he would look at her. Do I make her that uncomfortable? He asked himself. Surely not, I mean, just two days ago I was sitting there kissing her, and now she's afraid to even look at me?

Finally, they finished their breakfast and Nelly came in once more to pick up their plates. They thanked her once again and she left the room.

Lily stood up and stretched. "So what kind of robe are you looking for today anyway?" she asked Terrence, trying to make conversation.

"Well, I honestly have no clue either," he replied. "I guess we'll just go see what's out there and be surprised for ourselves, huh?" he smiled.

"Yeah, guess so," Lily said, returning a forced smile. Just think about it, only two more days until you get to see James! The Portkey should be charged enough by then, and you will be on your way home in no time. She smiled to herself.

"Lily?" Terrence asked, a worried look on his face.

"Oh, sorry, day dreaming. You were saying?"

"I was just asking you around what time do you think we should leave today? I mean, we do have all day."

"Er...I don't know. About...eleven? Would that be good?"

"Great," Terrence stood out of his chair. "I will go up to my study then and work on a few things, then we shall prepare to leave around eleven."

"Works for me also. I'll just be upstairs. I might have a go at one of the books in my room if I get too bored," she also stood up and prepared to leave the dining room.

"Right, okay then dear, until eleven."

"Until eleven."

They walked their separate ways out of the room.

~*~*~*~

Terrence made his way upstairs to his study. He was going to work, yes, but he never said on what.

Must try to find a way to destroy this cursed thing. He felt the Portkey through his pocket to make sure it was there. Have to get rid of you now don't I? He smiled at himself and threw open the door of his study.

Countless thousands of books lined the wall of his study. He had them on almost any reference in the magical world, including some favorite Muggle pieces too. Some were new, he had just went shopping the week before, and some were so old that their lettering was peeling off and the book was bound in string.

He went to his mahogany wood desk and rummaged through a pile of papers to be sorted. After putting them into a makeshift stack at the end of the desk, he started pulling volumes off of the library shelves, hoping to have one indicate ways of destroying time traveling devices.

After a good search, he found he had one book to look from, and that was for a Time Turner. Briskly shuffling through the pages, he found that it didn't even say how to destroy one. He hung his head, and let the book drop to the floor with a loud thud. Well, let's see if we can find another way then...

Slowly, Terrence reached into his pocket to find the steel ball sitting there. Lily had said something about it needing to be recharged, he remembered that, but she never said how long it needed to recharge. It could transport me to the future right now! On this train of thought, he let the Portkey drop safely to his desk, hoping that he wasn't going to be sucked into the present somehow.

Terrence racked his brain for some useful destroying spells. He tried a number of them on the small, round object, but none even seemed to phase it. Hell, he'd even tried the Avada Kedavra spell. It did turn it to rather a pretty sort of green, before the spell died out and he was still left with the shimmering ball on his desktop.

"Can't you just bloody explode into oblivion and make my life a little easier!" he yelled at little ball pointlessly. As if to make him more infuriated, it just shimmered in the sunlight back at him.

"Argh!" he took the ball in his hands and threw it at the closest stonewall. He didn't really expect anything to become of it, but still, it helped relieve some of his anger a little.

He sat back down at his desk and put his hands on his chin. What if I throw it down at the bottom of a lake? That would still keep her from getting it, even if it can't be destroyed. Or maybe burying it somewhere?

All of these things could never truly keep her away from it though. He sighed. If she wanted it badly enough, she would find a way to get it.

Terrence sat in his desk thinking for a while longer before finally looking at the clock. It read 10:45. He decided he better get ready to go out with Lily for the day.

~*~*~*~

Lily, meanwhile, sat in her room lost in a daydream. She was thinking about James again, what a surprise, but she wasn't just thinking about how much she missed him this time. She was remembering fond times they shared together. Like when they found out that Sirius had transfigured Snape into a fluffy white rabbit, or when Lily would watch him in one of his spectacular Quidditch games. She sighed; thinking of James made her miss him even more.

She thought it would probably be good if she got ready to go out today. Lily had no idea of what restaurant he was taking her to or where in Hogsmeade they were going. So, she decided to just dress the Muggle way. She picked out the jeans she arrived with and a black knitted sweater she found in the closet. After picking out her clothes, she stepped briefly into the shower, dried her hair, then dressed.

By this time it was nearly 10:15. Deciding she had a good half hour to burn, she walked over to a pile of books that were sitting in her room.

She crossed over the short space to where they were located. Lily didn't know what kind of books were there, so she just started rummaging through the pile, looking for something that would catch her eye. And catch her eye something did.

She picked up what looked to be an old photo album. Interesting, she thought to herself. She opened the first page and it read: To my baby: Memories of your past, From: Your mother. There were little X's and O's below the signature also. Lily, perplexed, decided to flip through the book.

Inside were pictures of what only could be his mother and father. They were black and white, yes, but she could still make out the black hair, which he got from his father. His father's was more unruly though. His mother sat across from him, her slender figure beaming in the pictures. From the looks of it she had light blonde hair.

Lily flipped through the book more. Some pictures showed Terrence's mom and dad, other's showed what could only be his family members. But as she go further and further into the book, there we less pictures of his father, less of the other family members. Some showed his mother alone, picking flowers in the garden. Other's showed her pregnant, with what must be Tom. Also, she didn't live in the elegant manor she was living in before, but rather a simple cottage, on the roadside somewhere.

The last picture in the book was something that made her eyes start to tear. It was apparently his mother in labor with him. Considering it was a wizarding photograph, it was moving. A nurse put the little baby in the mother's arms, and there was a look of pure joy on his mother's face. Lily saw her murmur a few words before smiling to herself and slumping down on the bed. One of the nurses took the baby out of her arms and another covered the woman up with a sheet.

Lily gasped; this couldn't be what happened to his mother. And his father wasn't even there for the labor!

Lily started crying as she watched the picture play over and over again. It was one of the saddest things she had ever seen in her life. She didn't usually get so emotional over these kinds of things, but the look of pure joy, pure love on the woman's face as she held Terrence. As if she waited her whole life just to see him. She could have loved him so much.

Looking at the clock on the wall, it read 10:50. Realizing she was going to be late for Terrence, she wiped her eyes hurriedly and left the room.

~*~*~*~

She quickly walked down the stairs to find him already waiting at the bottom of it. "Ready to go shopping?" he asked warmly, holding out an arm.

"Ready when you are," she latched on to his arm with what could only be described as 'friendly' or 'brotherly', neither of which he liked.

"Let's go then," he took a handful of Floo Powder, "The Three Broomsticks!" he yelled clearly before stepping into the emerald flame.

Lily followed closely behind, careful not to swallow a mouthful of soot this time. Using the Floo was not her favorite form of travel. She was soon rushing past many wizarding fireplaces. An old couple sitting together at a table was the last image she saw before deciding to close her eyes because she was feeling nauseated. The last thing I want to do is show up at The Three Broomsticks covered in my breakfast.

~*~*~*~

Lily stepped out of the fireplace at The Three Broomsticks and dusted the soot off of her clothes. Looking around, she saw Terrence talking to the barkeeper, whom Lily had no idea who it was.

When Terrence spotted her, his eyes lit up. "Lily!" he called out to her. He said a brief goodbye to the barkeeper and made his way over to her, pushing past people and chairs on the way.

"'Lo again, Terrence," Lily smiled at him. He flashed her another grin, which, once again, made her go weak at the knees. Why do I still feel like this? She mentally kicked herself, trying to get the thought of how good Terrence's arms would feel around her right now.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Ready when you are," she replied, and they started out of The Three Broomsticks.

"Any idea where you want to go first?" he asked, trying to start conversation.

"Terrence," Lily said, "you do remember that I happed to be from 30 years in the future so I don't really believe I know where to go."

"Oh, that's right," he smiled. "It's so easy to forget the little things when I'm with you."

Lily blushed a spectacular shade of pink. Why is he so charming? Why, why, why, why?

"Terrence..." she waved a hand dismissively.

"Here!" he said suddenly, grabbing her arm and wielding her around. She was facing a shop that said Robes for all Occasions.

"This could be good," Lily nodded. Terrence smiled and they walked into the store.

~*~*~*~

Terrence steered her into the small shop. When they opened the door, a bell was heard in the back of the shop, and at once, a man came out to welcome them.

"Any idea of what you're looking for?" the man asked Terrence. The shop was a little room in the front filled with 2 small stools for what had to be measuring and a little rack of robes off to the side. A black curtain shielded the back room from few behind the counter.

"Well, we're looking for dress robes for a ball I'm throwing tomorrow evening," he replied to the man. "It's formal. But we haven't a clue what we want."

"Well, I'm sure I can fix that. You," the man pointed at Terrence. "I'm thinking you would look well in a blue or black robe of some sort. Maybe one with a color like your eyes, a bit deeper. Kind of set them off a bit. Black would set your hair off. Hold on, let me run in back and I'll bring some things out for you." The man bustled off, and Terrence looked to Lily.

Lily stood looking at him with raised eyebrow.

"What?" he asked her. She smiled. "What?" he repeated trying to get and answer out of her.

"Oh isn't it obvious?" she blurted.

"Isn't what obvious?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing..." Terrence saw her shut her mouth, but her eyes were still sparkling.

"Oh, Lily, come on," he grabbed her by the waist.

"Nope, not saying anything..." she laughed as he spun her around a bit.

"Would it help if I did this?" Terrence started tickling her slightly.

"No..." Lily tried hard to keep a straight face, as if his hands moving lightly over her waist were doing nothing to effect her. But he started tickling even more and she found herself doubling over with laughter.

Terrence grabbed her around the waist and pulled her even closer to him. "No, huh? You'll regret saying that."

"Oh I will now, will I?" She looked up into his eyes playfully.

"Yes."

"How so?" Lily asked.

"Like this," Terrence leaned down, ready to kiss her. From the looks of it, Lily wasn't pulling away. Nice, Terrence thought to himself. This is going well. Terrence could feel her breathing closely to his lips. They were mere inches apart. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest. And she still isn't moving away--

"Here, why don't you try thi--" the shopkeepers voice trailed off as he looked at the situation in front of him. Lily in Terrence's arms, faces close, ready to make contact...

"Am I interrupting something here?" he asked, a small smile playing across his lips.

Lily jumped from Terrence's arms. "No, nothing. Nothing was going on here."

Terrence frowned, and looked in the direction of Lily. She refused to meet his gaze. He knew she wanted that as much as he did. There was no denying the look in her eyes.

"You were saying..." Terrence asked, annoyed. Annoyed at the fact that he could have had Lily again. Annoyed at the fact that the shopkeeper was ruining his plans.

"I have a few robes I would like you to try on. I think they might suit you," the shopkeeper said. He held up a black robe. "This one is kind of plain when you look at it from far away, but if you come closer," Terrence moved his head in, "you'll see that it has rich designs in velvet all the way across it."

Terrence shook his head. "I'd like to see the next one please."

"Very well," the man held up another robe. It was another black one, but this time he could see a design on it. It had emerald green trimming, with an emerald cloak to match. "One of our finer designs," the man said. Terrence eyed it for a moment, and shook his head once more.

"Tricky customer, eh?" the shopkeeper smiled. "No worries, we'll find something for you." He grabbed the next robe. It was navy blue in color. Simple, with silver trim on the bottom, a matching navy cloak with silver fastenings. Terrence looked at it. He did like the color. So deep in blue, it was almost black. He was beginning to wonder if it was spelled to make it switch from black to blue when you shifted your head.

"I like this one," he said simply. Lily nodded in approval.

"I like that one, also. I think it brings out your eyes," she blushed again.

"Then we'll take it," Terrence went to the counter as Lily made her way to look at the small rack of robes.

I can't believe it, I could have had her again. He drummed his fingers impatiently on the counter as the man rang up the robe. He looked over in Lily's direction. She was running her delicate fingers across the material of a red robe. She saw her shift her head to see the robe at a better angle and her rich red hair fell across her face. Terrence sighed, why does she have this effect on me?

"That will be 15 galleons and 9 sickles please," the man startled Terrence out of his thoughts. He paid absentmindedly and grabbed the bag the bag getting ready to leave.

"Do you carry anything here for women?" Terrence asked before turning to exit.

"No, just for men," the man replied without looking up from a thick catalog he was looking at.

"I thought you had dress robes for all occasions though?" Terrence asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yes, all occasions, for men," he smiled to himself as he said his little joke.

Terrence rolled his eyes very visibly at the man. If he noticed, he didn't say anything. So, before losing his temper even more, Terrence walked over to where Lily was at the robe rack.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

Lily frowned. "What about my dress robes?"

"This shop has dress robes for all occasions. All occasions for men," Terrence did a very accurate impression of the shopkeeper that sent Lily into a fit of giggles. He had to smile himself to see how much she enjoyed that. "Come on," he waved her over to the door and they stepped back into Hogsmeade.

~*~*~*~

"Lily," Terrence said impatiently. "We've been walking around for hours. And I know for certain that we've passed this shop twice."

Lily decided to ignore Terrence at the moment. They had been in at least 5 different dress robes shops. She still hadn't found the right one she wanted. So, she kept on hopping from store to store. She knew that there was at least one strip of stores she hadn't passed yet.

"Terrence, I know we haven't been all over Hogsmeade. I think you're exaggerating. Besides, I'm a woman. This is a ball. Usually, women talk a while to pick things out for balls. It's not everyday you go to one you know," she explained to him.

"Yes, but it doesn't have to be perfect! You could just buy a simple set of dress robes so we can get this over with," Terrence whined some more.

"Hold on one second," Lily held up her hand and Terrence stopped. She walked over to a shop window. She heard Terrence following her.

She saw him look in the direction of the dress she was talking about that was on display. It had two pieces to it. The top looked like a bodice. Scarlet in color, but with a golden stripe played down the middle of it. It laced up with what looked to be like a golden ribbon. Lily then turned her attention to the bottom part. It was a velvet skirt, also scarlet in color. It swept out from the wait and had gold trim at the bottom. Lily was in awe over the dress robe, it was just perfect.

"I like that one," Lily said breathlessly. Terrence just nodded, imagining what Lily would look like in it.

"Well," he coughed a bit. "Let's go have you try it on."

Lily and Terrence walked into the shop.

~*~*~*~

"Lily, dear," Terrence sighed from a chair outside the dressing room. "What's taking you so long?" Once again he was drumming his fingers against the chair. This was beginning to make him nervous. He didn't know that finding a dress robe set could be so stressful.

"I think I look ridiculous!" he heard her whine from inside. He simply rolled his eyes in return.

"Come out, let's have a look then," he wanted to see how she looked with the dress on.

"Promise not to laugh?" she asked.

"I solemnly swear," he smiled to himself.

"Okay," Lily drew back the curtain and stepped out.

Terrence sharply took in a breath. She was stunning. The dress highlighted all the simplest curves he didn't even know she had. And the color was a perfect complement for her. Her eyes were set off by the color, brining them out in an even deeper shade of green.

He simply gaped at her.

"See, ridiculous. I'm going to take this thing off," she sighed and went back into the small dressing room.

"Y-y-you don't look r-ridiculous," Terrence stumbled getting out of his chair. He tripped over the little ottoman in front of it, but he ignored it and just kept walking towards her. He reached her and turned her around to face the mirror, hands lingering longer than necessary on her waist. "Is that ridiculous to you?"

Lily looked at herself in the mirror. He could see her eyes sparkle as she watched herself. She twirled a bit, letting the skirt fly around about her. Terrence still held her from behind and she could see him smiling over her shoulder at her reflection.

"I do like this one," she looked up at him and smiled.

"I do too," he replied. "Now, go pick out some shoes so we can get out of this place!" He laughed as he went back over to his chair, up-righting the ottoman on the way.

"Kill joy," Lily muttered.

"I heard that," he replied as she went back into the dressing room. She came back out a few moments later with her jeans and sweater on. The lingering image of Lily still in that robe was playing itself over and over again in his mind. He couldn't wait to see her at the ball.

"I'm going to go pick out my shoes now," she said as she watched his eyes suddenly come back into focus.

"Okay. Please, just don't take forever. I'll just be sitting back here, in my chair. Waiting for you to return from the endless world of shopping," he waved his hands over the store area and grinned.

Lily visibly rolled her eyes as she walked off to get some shoes.

As she walked away, Terrence found himself thinking of her once again. He just saw her over and over, it was like one single thought, Lily...Lily...Lily...It never seemed to end. I must have her, he thought to himself and thought exactly of a plan how.

She walked back with a pair of shoes. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded and he took them up to the counter for her. "Lily, after this, why don't we go get a few drinks in The Three Broomsticks?" he asked casually.

"Sure, fine by me," she replied passively. She took the bag in her hands. "Lead the way," she said brightly. She hooked her arm in his again and smiled at him happily. "Thanks for everything Terrence. It truly means a lot to me."

"It's nothing Lily," he returned the smile. It sent little shivers down Lily's spine. He held the door open for her as they stepped back out into Hogsmeade in the direction of The Three Broomsticks

~*~*~*~