A Change of Heart

Chapter 15

A/N: I sure took my time didn't I? Thank you guys so much for the reviews, I love them. This part is long, Hopefully, it makes up for the time it took me to make it. I hope you like it. Remember: R/R!!!

James walked into the common room after he had bumped into Lily looking for Hannah. He found her sitting by herself by the fireplace. She looked deep in thought, but noticed James come in and gave him a weird look. He was itching to ask her if she knew what was wrong with Lily, but he knew he should explain what she had seen. She was apprehensive as he innocently said hello and asked her how she was doing. Remus just sat in a chair next to Hannah's and listened as James began his explanation.

"I'm fine. I just... it seemed a little odd. I know Remus brought you here. James what--" she seemed to choke out the words nervously.

He still hadn't worked out whether he wanted to reveal to Hannah of all people about his invisibility cloak. He looked over at Remus and saw as he nodded his head at James. He knew what James was thinking. Remus appeared to be saying, 'you can trust her.'

"I was under an invisibility cloak," he started. Her face suddenly etched in understanding and she let out a small laugh.

"You were wearing an invisibility cloak? Phew, I completely didn't think of that. I thought you might've tried apparating and it went wrong or something," Hannah said relieved. "How did you come by an invisibility cloak James?"

"It was my father's, he gave it to me during my first year," he said with a smile.

"Now I get how you all pulled off most of your pranks without getting caught," she laughed. She was about to excuse herself when James' demeanor changed. He tensed up a little as he was about to ask her something.

"Have you talked to Lily today, Hannah?" he asked curiously.

She eyed him warily before answering. "I--this morning, when I was helping her get ready for her date. Why?"

"Well, it's just that Remus and I just saw her dash out of here. We--I was wondering if you knew if something was wrong," he said nervously at her. He seemed genuinely concerned.

"She ran out of here? Did she look upset?" Hannah asked worriedly. "I didn't see her. I guess I was a bit distracted. I just came in myself. I didn't even know she was back. What happened exactly?"

"I don't know, she just basically ran into me coming out of the common room. She--well she fell on me and she got up really nervously... She just looked so--- I don't know, stressed. I'm not sure that's the right word..." he said thoughtfully.

"Out of herself," Remus contributed.

"Yeah, I guess," James said deep in thought.

"I think I should go find her. I'll see you both later," Hannah said getting up. She looked back at James, whose face was etched with concern. She wished she could smile at his careful anxiety for her friend. "Thank you for telling me, for worrying about her."

He simply nodded and sat down on the couch, knowing that even if something had gone wrong in her date with Sirius, it wasn't supposed to matter to him.

***

Hannah found Lily and Sarah in the Great Hall later for dinner. She questioned Lily about what James had told her. Lily, who had momentarily forgotten about both boys, felt her heart drop at the mention of them both. She was happy when she didn't remember her confusion. Worse of all, her friends picked up quickly on her change in demeanor.

"So are you going to tell us what you're thinking?" Hannah asked apprehensively.

"It's nothing really. Just thinking about how long this day has been. I mean, the date was great but we walked quite a lot, so I'm really quite tired. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't Halloween. I've never missed a feast and this is going to be the last one we ever attend. Anyways, you guys know how much I love sweets," she said trying to produce a fake smile.

"Who do you think you're fooling Lily? We've been your best friends since first year. We can tell when you're lying better than anyone else. Now, come on. I think it's time for you to share," Sarah said giving Lily a hard look.

"Really, it's nothing," Lily said again trying to dismiss her friends' comments.

"James said you looked really nervous, out of yourself. I'll put it to you this way Lily. The only time I ever see you tense at all is when we get the results to our tests," Hannah said giving Lily a piercing look.

"You know what? I will tell you, when we are back in the Gryffindor Tower. Alright? Not here though. Too many people..." she said looking around. "Now can we please just eat? I mean this is a feast isn't it? And may I remind you both that this is your favorite holiday?"

"Fine. Well, it is..." Sarah said taking a piece of pumpkin pie. "But you will tell us later."

Lily nodded annoyed. Hannah looked at her friend still concerned. She looked over at where the marauders were sitting at the other side of the table. They were looking very stiff. She looked around but she couldn't see Sirius anywhere near them. She leaned over to ask Frank where he was.

"Dunno," he answered uninterested. "Probably setting up a prank somewhere."

Aurora, who had heard Hannah ask about Sirius, smiled, and quipped in, "Didn't Lily go out with him today? You should really ask her."

Lily suddenly stopped her conversation with Sarah and some other six years and turned to look at Aurora. Frank's face drew an interested look suddenly and he turned to see Lily's reaction to Aurora's loud comment. Daya, who up until that moment had been sharing gossip with a Ravenclaw, excused herself and went over to her own table.

"Speak louder Aurora, I don't think they heard you over at the Slytherin table," Sarah said slightly angry.

"Well, do you know where he is? You guys are a couple aren't you?" Aurora asked Lily in a softer voice.

"Umm..." Lily started uncertainly. Just when she was about to speak, an owl swooped in between the table, surprising everyone in the Gryffindor table. They followed the owl with their eyes and saw it as flew towards the Headmaster. Dumbledore read the parchment the owl had brought him and at once stood up.

"The Halloween Feast is cancelled. Prefects please escort the students back to their common rooms and await for further instructions from your Head of House. Teachers will follow me," he said very seriously.

At once people started getting up and murmuring. They could only think of one thing that their Headmaster would be worried about right now, Voldemort.

***

When the Gryffindors went into the common room that night, there was a lot of fear about a possible attack on Hogwarts. Almost everyone was agreeing that the letter had been a warning to Dumbledore on Voldemort's attack to finally attack the school.

"You're all losing your wits! Voldemort fears Dumbledore, he wouldn't come into the school," Lily said chidingly to some of the older kids. "Besides, you're getting the first years worried."

A few of the other prefects were talking to other kids too, reassuring them that everything was going to be alright. They didn't seem as confident as Lily when they said it though. As a matter of fact, the only other people who were as confident that the situation didn't involve Voldemort's break in to the school, were the marauders. Well, at least three of them. It took a little over half an hour until James after finally looking around, not finding Sirius, began asking people if they had seen them. It turned out that no one had seen him since he had come back with Lily from Hogsmeade.

"I think we should ask her," James said worried.

"What do you want to ask her?" Remus asked looking concerned.

"If she knows if he was coming to dinner, if she saw him before dinner," James said looking from across the room as Lily talked to a young red-headed first year who looked rather worried.

"You're right maybe we should ask her," Remus said deep in thought.

"Maybe he's up in the dormitory," Peter piped in.

"I thought you said you had checked the dormitory," James said to Remus hoping that Remus hadn't checked.

"I didn't. I thought you were going to," Remus said in a relieved voice. He gave a slight chuckle and smiled. "Well, let's look for him upstairs."

They were disappointed, however, when they didn't find him upstairs like they had expected to. James was looking quite anxious, while Remus was pacing thoughtfully around the common room.

"Why don't we check the map?" Remus suggested.

"Good idea, except that he has it..." James said dryly.

"I'm sure he's fine," Peter said unconcerned from his seat by the fire. "He's probably just walking around."

"Hmm... I suddenly feel like a parent," Remus said jokingly.

"What could make Dumbledore cancel a feast like that?" James said edgily.

***

They finally decided to ask Lily. Remus approached her as she finished speaking with the last group of students left in the common room.

"It'll be fine, you'll see. Don't worry about it. Why don't you all just head to bed? There'll be news in the morning," she said confidently. The kids agreed, convinced by her reassurance, left and Remus and James approached her. She looked at their concerned faces and stood up. "What's wrong?"

"Um, we were wondering if you had seen Sirius at all since this afternoon," he said fretfully.

She looked around for him realizing that she hadn't seen him at all that night. She looked at both boys almost at a loss for words. Where was Sirius?

"You don't know where he is?" she drawled out beginning to worry. "Where was he for dinner? I noticed he wasn't with you guys."

"We don't know either. We assumed he didn't want to go to the Halloween feast," James supplied.

"No, he made it seem as though he would be there, now that I come to think of it. I suppose you already checked the dormitory?" she asked. Remus nodded and she continued. "Maybe he went somewhere to think... Well, do you know if he was planning a prank?"

"No. I don't think he was. Not after--not today," Remus said frustrated.

"I think that maybe we need to go look for him," she said rather worried. "Or at least go alert someone that he's missing."

"We could get him in trouble if it turns out he was just in the kitchens though," James said thoughtfully.

"Well, it'd be worse if he's in trouble. Rather be safe than sorry," Lily said glancing at her watch. It was late, she noted, almost midnight.

"Well, at least one of us should stay here in case he comes back. I think Peter already fell asleep on the sofa though. I'll stay, why don't you two go?" Remus volunteered.

Lily and James both agreed and walked out of the almost empty common room. Once they were outside, Lily looked at the opposite sides of the hall looking almost lost.

"Where should we start?" she asked.

"Maybe we should start at kitchens. This way," he said leading the way.

"How do you know where the kitchens are?" she asked curiously.

"You sort of learn things when you spend so much time making trouble and exploring the school," he said.

She wanted to ask him why he tried so hard to stir up trouble, but contained herself. She let her mind wander for a moment. She was trying not to think that something might've happened to Sirius. She was a having a hard time reassuring herself however that everything was alright. The questions that had surfaced in her mind when the headmaster had received, the letter began making their way back to her. What had the letter been about? Had it really involved a warning that Voldemort might attack? Had he attacked somewhere nearby? She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't hear when James told her they had arrived at their destination.

"Lily?" he said trying to stir her from her thoughts. She blinked twice before focusing James. She gave him a questioning look. "We're here."

"Sorry," she mumbled as he tickled the pear in the portrait. She watched surprised as the pear became a door handle and they made their way inside. "Wow... know your secret passageways well don't you?"

He gave her a small smile and walked towards the tables when suddenly an elf appeared out of nowhere and scared Lily so that she took a hold of James' arm. He grinned at her reaction and put his free hand on hers.

"There's nothing to worry about. It's just Tily," he said warmly. He looked down at the elf who was beaming at him, eager to be of service. Lily let go of his arm hastily.

"Can we helps you Mr. Potter. Would you and your friend like anything to eat, drink?" the elf asked excitedly. A few more elves appeared suddenly and Lily, surprised every time more appeared etched closer to James.

"We are looking for Sirius Tily, has he been here?" James asked the elves.

"No sir, we have not. We have not seen him since you came in with cockroach clusters for--" Tily started.

"--that's alright. Thank you," he interrupted turning a shade of red. "Thanks anyways."

He pulled Lily outside hastily and a suspicious look made her way to her face.

"What was Tily going to say? You didn't put something in my food again did you?" she asked giving him a piercing look.

"Not you..." he provided avoiding her eyes. "Come on let's go find Sirius."

She looked annoyed for a moment, but at the mention of Sirius' name, thought better than to start a fight.

"Where then now? Don't you think we should look for a teacher?" she provided looking around at the empty halls.

"I think we'll get in trouble. We were supposed to wait in the common room for instructions," he said as he started down the hall.

"Yeah, but it's important. A student is missing. Not to mention we don't know whether that letter may be the reason why Sirius has been nowhere in sight for almost five hours now..." she said following after him. "Where are we going?"

"To Hagrid's, maybe he went there," he said leading the way to the grounds.

She followed him reluctantly. She wanted to alert a teacher that Sirius was missing. Then again, James was right. They would get in trouble. As a matter of fact, right now, she was surprised they hadn't been caught by Filch. She wondered whether that was the reason James was leading them outside. Less chances of getting caught. She imagined however that Hagrid wouldn't be in his hut. He would've been included in the new about the letter by Dumbledore. After all, Hagrid always mentioned that Dumbledore trusted him completely. She could say she trusted too. There were few people like Hagrid in the world, who you could trust fully; even if he did have a dangerous love for deadly animals.

"Hagrid won't be there," she announced to James.

"I know, but Sirius might've gone there anyways to have some time alone," he supplied walking towards the little hut.

It was dark enough for them not to be able to see where they were going and Lily stumbled on to James a couple of times. She muttered something about preferring not to be out in the dark when it was new moon, but as they arrived to the little hut, their vision cleared with the light coming from inside. James knocked on the door a couple of times, without getting a response. After the third knock, when there was still no reply, he tried opening the door. They walked in and found the place empty.

"Where to now then?" James said frustrated.

"To the teachers--" she started.

"No, not yet. There are still places where he could be..." James said thoughtfully. He considered all the passageways he could have been at. He could've gone to the shrieking shack or to Hogsmeade, over to the stores. Or maybe he was just wandering through the passageways; he knew no one would disturb him. He couldn't, though, search through those places with Lily. He wished more than ever he had the Marauder's map with him them. The map would allow him to find Sirius, let him know whether he was still in Hogwarts or perhaps in Hogsmeade. He started considering the thought of looking aimlessly around for him. Perhaps it would just be better to wait him out in the common room. But before he could say anything to Lily about going back to the Gryffindor Tower, he heard voices coming from behind the hut, near the forest. He took Lily's hand and quickly pulled Lily down so they were out of view from outside. He put his other hand over her mouth to keep her from asking what was wrong. She gave him a questioning look, which he ignored. Apparently, she hadn't heard anything yet. He didn't want to get caught. He could see from where they were standing the two shapes, covered in black cloaks, with their faces covered. At first he couldn't hear what the voices were saying, but as they seemed to be getting closer, he began to make out what they were saying.

"--I think they were lucky. Not many people easily escape him. He wanted them dead that's for sure. The master will be awfully angry at us..." a male voice said in a hushed voice.

"He'll be calling us soon. But I had to take advantage of tonight. No one would have suspected. That fool Dumbledore would never suspect anything from me..." a female voice whispered. She sounded familiar.

"He better not. We need someone at the school to keep an eye on things. The Dark Lord's power is growing and soon we will attack the school," the first voice said dramatically.

"I fear Dumbledore might know, however, that there's a spy within his school. He was very furtive with details about what happened tonight," the familiar voice said warily.

"What does he know?" the male voice asked worriedly.

James eyed Lily in the dark; he noticed that she was now paying a very rapt attention to the conversation as well. He pulled his hand from her mouth but was still holding her hand from when they had hidden. He had felt her hand tense up when the woman had called Dumbledore a fool. He had heard the man's voice drop lower at the last question and wanted to move a little closer. He gave a couple of steps, which made the wood beneath his feet creak slightly. The sound made Lily wince and they stood still, holding their breath, hoping that the cloaked figures hadn't heard the sound.

"He--" at that moment the woman stopped talking. "Did you hear that?"

"Is Hagrid here?" the man said glancing in direction of the hut.

"No, he's still with Dumbledore. He kept the heads of house behind, along with Hagrid and some other people," the woman said looking around. "We should leave. I have to get back to the school and you should go report what happened."

The man nodded and they walked in opposite directions. James watched anxiously as the woman started walking away. Suddenly, the man turned and said one last thing.

"Kyrie, you better not be late the next time," he said making her stop and turn around.

"I won't," she turned and walked away briskly.

James and Lily stood in the hut processing what they just heard. If they had heard correctly, the school had a spy, someone had been attacked, and the school was in trouble. As if that wasn't enough, they still didn't know where Sirius was. Lily walked carefully to the other side of the hut and watched through the window as the unknown professor walked up the stairs into the castle. She turned to see James sunk in Hagrid's chair near the fire, with his head in his hands.

"What do we do now?" she asked in a desperate whisper.

"We go to Dumbledore. Tell him what we heard," James provided sounding tired.

"What about Sirius?" she questioned him sounding lost.

"Well, from what we heard, he probably wasn't involved. I don't know... he's probably just wandering around. We made this into so much more than it was..." he said looking back at Lily.

"So we go see Dumbledore right now?" Lily said stepping closer to James. "Well, let's go then."

They left the hut, deep in thought thinking that it had been one of the longest days ever.