A Change of Heart

Life-changing News

Everyone was deep in thought after they saw Sarah being dragged out of the common room. It seemed unsettling the way McGonagall hadn't even bothered to tell all of them off for being out of bed. The way she had looked at Sarah also unnerved them. She had given Sarah a sympathetic, caring, even a soft look that they almost never saw, and not because the older professor was heartless, just because she was a rather strict person, deaf to excuses and whining.

"Tell me what was going on Lily," Hannah said in a soft voice breaking the silence that had engulfed the room. "Did it have something to do with why McGonagall took Sarah to see Dumbledore?"

"We don't know," James answered for Lily.

"Then what do you know?" Hannah said in a soft yet angry voice.

Lily stepped closer to Hannah and pulled her to sit down with her.

"Last week when Sirius was missing we went to look for him at Hagrid's hut. We found someone else nearby and they were speaking about an attack on someone. They also unknowingly revealed that there's a spy within the teaching staff. We're trying to find out who that person is," Lily said calmly. However, her mind was reeling with thoughts about something else. Words that Sarah had shared with her just a week ago: 'Someone... someone close to us-there's something wrong. I can feel it. Feel it with every sense in my being'.

***

Even after finishing explaining everything, doubts seemed to linger in Hannah as she looked at Lily uncertainly.

"That's all Hannah, there's nothing else," Lily said trying to reassure her friend. She didn't want to break her promise to Sarah, but it seemed that lately she had been doing too much lying for her own good. She wasn't used to keeping things from both girls, but it seemed pointless to worry them when they had no clue of what they were really doing it. She had to admit, that she didn't really want to confess she was also enjoying the company of the four boys.

"Are you sure? Lily, whatever it is that you think I'm better off not knowing---just tell me if there's something else," Hannah pressed on.

"There is---but I can't say it," Lily said in a final defeated voice. She looked down at the floor, sensing that the boys were now looking at her. She glanced up to meet the group leader, James, glancing at her curiously. He knew, suddenly, that whatever it is that she wasn't telling Hannah, she hadn't told them either.

"What do you mean?" James said now, stepping closer to where Lily and Hannah where sitting.

"It doesn't have anything to do with that night or with any spy that there might be here," Lily said looking at James.

"Then what? Or who?" Hannah asked worried etched through her face. "Is it Sarah? Do you know why she's at Dumbledore's office?"

"I can't tell you Hannah, I'm sorry," Lily said apologetically. She turned to say to the boys in the helpless voice, "And it doesn't concern you guys."

James knew better than to press the subject more, while the rest of them just stood there deep in thought. Sirius walked towards Lily and gave her a comforting hug.

"I suppose when Sarah comes, we can ask her what happened," Hannah said with a sigh.

They waited until daybreak, but Sarah didn't show up. Begrudgingly, Lily and Hannah went to bed after the boys had pleaded with them.

"Lily, we'll make sure you both know when she comes back. Trust me," Sirius said comforting the reluctant redhead before him.

"But I want to be here when she comes back," Lily said stifling a yawn. "She'll need us. She'll need Hannah and me."

"You need to sleep," James contributed from behind Sirius looking concerned. "You'll be no help to her if you're asleep when she's trying to talk to you."

Hannah settled quickly on going to bed, and as they got to their dormitory, they heard faint snores from their other roommates. Lily was about to drift into sleep, when Hannah spoke.

"You think it was Sarah's family," she said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "Why?"

Lily bit her lip thoughtfully. She didn't want to break Sarah's confidence. She had been scared, truly scared of what it was that she had seen. She held hope that it wasn't the reason why she had been called to see the Headmaster in dead of the night, but no other explanation seemed reasonable. Hannah knew her enough to know what it was that she was thinking without actually having to ask her. She wished she could've read her mind now, so that she wouldn't have to break their other friend's confidence in her.

"Something she said a couple of weeks ago," Lily said plainly.

"Was it something she did?" Hannah asked curiously.

"It was something she saw," Lily said after a few minutes. She then gave Hannah a last tired look before turning around in her bed and drawing the hangings on the four-poster bed. She heard when Hannah fell a sleep and possibly even snored, while she tossed and turned in the bed next to hers until she finally fell asleep too when the first light of day was coming up.

***

When Lily woke up, she rubbed her eyes and like every morning, drew the hangings from her bed to look at the sun. The day was looking dark and pale, reflecting her now settling mood. She didn't even remember why she was feeling slightly tired and miserable, but as she turned to look around the room, she noticed Sarah's empty and untouched bed. She remembered that she had gone to see Dumbledore; she remembered not being able to say anything to Hannah. She looked at Hannah's bed, next to hers, and noticed that the hangings were still closed. She imagined her friend must've still been a sleep, which surprised her as she had heard her fall asleep before she had. She looked at Daya's and Aurora's already made beds. She got ready as quickly as she could and headed downstairs.

She found that there were barely any people there and she looked at her watch. It was nearly one in the afternoon; everyone else was at the Great Hall, eating. She wondered where Sarah might be, and as she started walking towards the portrait, she felt a hand stop her.

"Don't bother, she's not back yet," James said as he stopped her.

"How do you know?" Lily asked unbelieving.

"Professor McGonagall said that she wouldn't be in lessons today and that both you and Hannah should go see her as soon as you could," he said simply. He looked at her warily. "Do you know what happened Lily?"

"I---I'm not sure," Lily simply stuttered. She could feel him gauging her reaction, trying to see if she could guess what he was about to tell her. "What is it?"

"Remus got the paper this morning," he started as he pulled a piece of parchment out of his robe pockets and handed it to her. "Here."

She was looking at the cover of the Daily Prophet in shock. There, in the cover, was a black and white picture of a house that looked like it had exploded. Hovering on top of the house was the Dark Mark. In big letters, above the picture she read the article name, "Death Eaters kill the Bones Family". She could feel her legs growing weak and she held out her hand to grasp James shoulder to avoid falling. He helped her walk to a couch nearby and she fell into it in shock. It was as she had feared and as Sarah had seen. She could only imagine what it was her friend was thinking or feeling at that point. She finally focused her eyes on the article beneath the picture, where wizards could be seen looking through the rubble obviously looking for any survivors.

Death Eaters Kill Bones Family

The details of the event which was announced last week were finally made public this week after the bodies of Joseph and Lauren Bones where found in the now-wrecked house in Wales. The attack, which was said to have been pre-emptive and a vital move in he-who-must-not-be-named's plans of world domination, has still not been fully explained.

The attack came as a surprise to many in the department of magical law enforcement in the ministry as the identity of the house-owners where found to be pure-bloods. The Bones had a record of being against Death Eater movement, but up until recently, were not considered of any importance to the Dark Lord. Members at the ministry are working to find the cause behind the shocking murders, but so far no leads have been found to explain the tragic incident.

The Bones are survived by their twenty year old son, Edgar, who works in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes; their seventeen year old daughter, Sarah, who currently attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; and ten year old daughter Susan, who is to start in the same school next fall. While it's still not certain what is to happen to the two youngest members of the Bones family, it is expected that their care will fall upon Joseph Bones' brother Jacob.

As Lily finished reading, the only thought in her head was, 'Could things get any worse?'

***

Hannah came down to the common room a while later, to find a very silent Lily looking out of the window at the school grounds. She tapped her friend on the shoulder lightly, stirring her from her thoughts. When Lily turned to look at her, Hannah saw her tear-welled eyes and usually pale cheeks, a rosy red. Lily looked at Hannah with sad eyes and without saying a word handed her the Daily Prophet page that James had given her earlier. Hannah read it and dropped down sitting next to Lily, shocked as Lily had looked only an hour before.

"Has---" she struggled to say as she looked at Lily with tears in her eyes.

"She hasn't been here all day... Professor McGonagall wants us to see her, I expect it's to talk about Sarah," Lily said sadly.

"When will she be back?" Hannah managed to ask.

"I don't know," Lily said looking down at the ground away, looking forlorn.

"Why would anyone--why would he---why them?" Hannah said in a choked voice.

"I don't know," replied Lily in an almost absent bleak voice.

"How about Susan? It says here--" she glanced up suddenly, aware that Lily wouldn't have that answer for her.

Lily could feel more tears well up in her eyes as she looked away from the paper Hannah had in her hand. She had known the Bones, stayed with them for a few summers and their home had been Hannah and hers second home. It was almost as though it had been her own family that had been taken away. She had broken down and cried a few minutes after she had read the article. James had held her in his arms as she sobbed helplessly. When she had calmed down, he had volunteered to go downstairs and get some food from the kitchens. He had left only minutes before Hannah had come downstairs.

She felt as though there had been something she could've done. Sarah had told her something was wrong. She had told her she could feel it. Maybe if she had told someone about it---she stopped herself. Sarah had seen the visions about the attack after they had happened. They hit close to home, and perhaps that was the reason why she knew deep inside something was wrong. There wasn't anything they could've done. It made her mad to think that the ministry might've held on to this information for so long. They had probably known straight away who it was that had died. Maybe even Dumbledore knew and it made her blood boil at the thought. That he knew what and how everything had happened. Even now, her mind processed the thought that maybe he knew what was behind all of it. She knew she wasn't thinking clearly, but right now, she needed to blame someone else. She needed to blame someone for the cruelty of the situation. How was it possible that anyone would want to kill the Bones? They were good people, with little to none enemies, innocent, and kind. She knew who to blame for the events that had happened a week ago and were just now beginning to take an effect in their lives. Voldemort. For some insane reason he wanted the Bones dead, and now they were. Because of him, Sarah had lost her parents, because of him, Sarah was probably somewhere right now, crying and blaming herself for what had happened. Lily knew Sarah would never be the same anymore. How could she expect her usually lively and jumpy friend to be the same person she was before? She would be blaming herself for not being able to see the attack coming before it came. She would hate herself for not writing to them more often. She would avoid seeing Lily and Hannah as long as she could just so that she could try to deal with her grief alone. Lily knew she had to get herself together and help her friend in what she could. She knew the attack had been the one Kyrie and the cloaked man had discussed that night outside Hagrid's hut. She also knew she was going to try everything in her power to find out who that traitor was.

"We have to go see Professor McGonagall," Lily said with a resolved look. Hannah gave a nod and followed after her friend, walking down to the old professor's office.