The Wizard of Black

But the happiness of the group did not suit Bellatrix much at all.

"Not going to take my warnings, then?" she said as she sat in her dark and gloomy castle, looking at them through her crystal ball. "I'll just have to put an end to you sooner than later! Then I will have that emerald time-turner, and have the greatest power in all Black! Ha ha ha! So now... how to do it... this must be done delicately and precisely..."

Bellatrix pursed her lips in thought. "Hmm... it can't be too obvious, now. It must seem innocent and useful to them..." As she rubbed her index finger around the crystal ball while she thought, an idea came to her. "Broomsticks! Yes, broomsticks will lead them to their end!"

Satisfied, she waved her wand around the crystal ball whilst muttering an incantation, and then whisked away.

---

The first glimpse of Ebony City came to Lily, James, Remus, and Peter just as they exited the dark forest. The black castle sat at the very top of a large rolling hill. However, from their distance away, the castle looked like a little dot on a green hill.

"Oh, look! It's so beautiful!" cried Lily, pointing toward the castle in the distance. "It's just there! Up that hill!"

James craned his head up to look. "Yeah, and we're down here."

Remus grimaced at the sight. "We'll just have to walk up there."

"That's going to take forever!" Peter whined. "It's such a high hill! And my legs are so tiny!"

"You know quite well that one of us is going to end up carrying you," said Remus, who had grown quite used to the way Peter's mind worked.

"I'll carry Peter, I don't mind," offered Lily.

However, her words had been drowned out by James' cry of, "Look! Broomsticks!"

Indeed, there were four brooms laid neatly together on the grass.

"I've seen people ride these things," James informed them, looking proud of himself. "We can ride them and make the journey shorter and less work!"

"I can't ride on that!" said Peter. "It's too big! And I'd be afraid to be on it all by myself."

"Well, then you can go on someone else's with them," said James, waving his head impatiently. "What do you say, Lily?"

"I don't know..." Lily said, staring at the broomsticks with a slight face. "I've never used a broomstick before..."

"I'll help you then, Lily!" James said eagerly, though he truly had no exact idea of how to use the broomstick.

Lily tried to force a smile. "You don't know how to use this at all, do you?"

"Erm... no," James admitted.

"Here, let me do this," said Remus, stepping forward. "I have a general idea of how it works, but I'd rather not use one. I'll just walk with James, since I'm assuming that you're not going to be using one of those?"

"Why not?" asked James. "Those look fun!"

"Yes, but... you see, stags aren't meant to fly on brooms. You'd probably fall over."

"Oh, fine," said James, scowling.

Remus handed Lily a broom. "Here. Now you just swing your leg over it, and then you gently kick off from the ground. You don't have to go fast at all, since I don't think you'll be comfortable with that."

"No, not really," said Lily, taking the broom and sitting on it. "Thanks for the instructions."

"Now wait a minute, I'm not going to walk!" said Peter. "But I can try and help Lily. I'll just sit on the front. Someone help me up."

Lily bent down and picked up the little rat and put him on the front of the broom.

"Don't go too fast, now," warned Peter.

"Gently kick off from the ground," Remus told her.

It was the strangest experience Lily had had in her entire life, besides becoming the national hero of a city made up of House-Elves. But yet, it was also one of the best ones. It was a little nerve-wracking to ride a broomstick, but there was such freedom, such exhilaration.

"I wish I could ride on one of those too," said James from the ground.

"I'm sorry, James," said Lily. "It's kind of weird though. I'm nervous that I'll fall."

"Yes, I don't like them much either," said Remus. "Just go slow. You should be all right."

"What are you all talking about?" said Peter, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. "This is fun!"

"Oh, thanks for rubbing it in, Peter," snapped James good-naturedly.

Though the broom was at a slow pace, in just a few minutes the four were already much closer to the Ebony City. They were halfway up the hill when Lily's broom started to slow down.

"What's wrong, Lily?" asked James. "Is your broom breaking?"

"No... no..." said Lily, bringing the broom to a stop and swinging her leg back over it. "It's just I'm getting so tired."

"Well, I guess it's possible that you're tired since it's your first ride," said Remus. "But you were going at a nice pace."

"I think I'm just going to have to take a nap here..." Lily put the broom down, and then slowly lay down in the grass.

"Aw, okay," said James, but he was stuck with some decisions. Should they hurry to the Ebony City or let Lily rest? "We're almost there."

"Please, Lily," said Remus, extending his hand to pull her up. "I know you're tired, but you can't just sleep in the middle of a hill. Let's at least get to the city and perhaps you can sleep there."

But Lily was already falling asleep. "No... I just need to rest my eyes... Just for a minute..." She closed her eyes, and in another second, was in a deep sleep.

"You know... I think I might just take a nap too..." added Peter.

"You?" exclaimed James. "You didn't even do anything! How are you tired?"

Peter yawned. "I just am..." He too fell to the ground near Lily and fell asleep.

As James pushed the snoring Peter a little farther away from Lily with his hoof, Remus picked up the broomstick and examined it. He rubbed his fingers against it, then peered at it, and even sniffed it.

"You know what?" said Remus to James. "I believe this is a spell. A spell to make us fall asleep!"

"But who would want to do that?" James asked. The answer hit him a second later.

"The Witch!"

"It's a good thing you can't ride a broomstick and I chose to walk. I think that it makes whoever was riding the broomstick fall asleep, and since Lily and Peter were..."

James wasn't even listening to Remus' explanation, and was instead more concerned with Lily. "What do we do?"

"I don't know!" said Remus. "I haven't got a wand, and at any rate, I haven't done magic in years. The best we can do is call for help. Help! Oh, help! Help!"

"That's stupid!" said James, purposely poking Remus with his antlers. "The forest wasn't full of anything helpful, and we're too far away from the city for anyone to hear us!"

"Then we'll run up closer to the city and ask for help!" suggested Remus quickly.

"I'm not leaving Lily!" protested James.

"Well... then... You stay here, and I'll go!" said Remus.

"No, don't!" yelled James. "The Witch might try and get you while you're gone!"

"Then what?" asked Remus. "There's nothing we can do! Poor Lily! Poor Peter! Oh..." Tears began forming in his eyes and flowed down his cheeks as he looked at their two sleeping companions. "Oh, we'll never get them back! I know not even chocolate will work, and that's supposed to work for almost anything!" He sniffed a little more.

"Stop crying and do something useful!" James snapped.

Remus wiped his eyes with a torn sleeve and began yelling, "Help! Help, please!"

James rolled his eyes. "That wasn't useful! No one can hear us!" After a moment's pause, in an act of being hypocritical, James began shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Help us! HELP! HELP! HELP! HELP!"

----

And suddenly, it began to rain Golden Snitches.

"What are these?" James asked as they fell down. He heard no reply from Remus, but he was not waiting for one anyway. "It's...tiny golden flying balls! Maybe they can help!" He looked over at Lily hopefully. "Oh, but they couldn't help," he said sadly. "I really like these balls though." James rolled one around by prodding it with his hoof and began to play with it, but then he heard someone stir. He looked over and saw Lily awakening. "Oh, perhaps they did help! Lily, you're waking up! You're waking up!"

"Yes...I suppose I am," Lily said slowly, rubbing her head as she began to stand up.

Peter was still not awake, though he had been mumbling in his sleep. "I am loyal...to...the forest. No, myself. I mean, the forest. I am the King. But I am loyal to myself..."

James looked over at Lily, hoping to get a reaction from her, but she was not looking at him. He went over and kicked Peter. "Stop mumbling about where your loyalties lie and wake up!"

Peter gave a huge yawn and opened his eyes, blinking at the falling Golden Snitches. "Unusual weather we're having, ain't it?"

Lily looked up at James and Remus and smiled. "It's a good thing the both of you were here to help."

"Well, actually, what happened was-" began Remus, but James cut him off.

"That's right! We helped a lot, and these little golden balls came flowing down! Look, some of them are flying! I... I wish I could keep one..." He gave a sigh. The old 'poor me, I'm a stag' routine.

"I can keep one in my basket for you," offered Lily.

"Would you? Would you really?" asked James. "Yippee!"

Lily picked the shiniest Golden Snitch she saw on the ground and put it in her basket for James. She then checked to make sure Peter was still with them, and looked back at James and Remus. "I think we're ready to continue now. But... Remus! Why have you been crying?" she asked, now realizing Remus discreetly wiping the ends of his eyes with his sleeve.

"It's just so beautiful!" he cried. Lily assumed he must have been talking about Ebony City. And he probably was. But he was also thinking about two things: one started with 'J', and the other with 'L'.

---

"In the name of Merlin!" Bellatrix growled, still watching the four from her crystal ball. "Somebody is always helping that girl! But don't worry...I'll still conquer her! I certainly will! And woe to those who try and stop me!" she cackled maniacally and left the crystal ball.

---

There was only a short distance to go to reach Ebony City, and the four ran quick as they could. They reached the sparkling black door, and Lily pressed the black doorbell.

A window opened, and looking out was a man. He was quite attractive, but there was still something sinister about him. "Hasn't anyone ever taught you how to read?" he asked them, glaring at Lily.

"Of course," Remus said, frowning at the man's rudeness.

"Yes! We do know how to read, thank you!" James added in the same tone as the man.

"What would you like us to read?" asked Remus.

"This!" yelled the man, and he pushed a sign out the window that landed hard on James' head, and slammed the little window. Though it hurt him, James' tried not to react to it.

"Be- ell out-ee of oh-der," read James. "Funny thing is, it looks just like the words 'Bell out of order'..."

Remus rolled his eyes slightly. "That's because it is," he whispered to James.

"'Bell out of order. Punch the House-Elf in the head'," Lily read the sign. "Oh, now that isn't very nice! I wonder what House-Elf Land would think?"

"They'd probably make you not only their town hero, but their town spokesperson against cruelties," said Peter.

Wincing, Lily closed her eyes and smacked the stuffed House-Elf head attached to the sign. The stuffed House-Elf head screamed as if it had actual pain, but before Lily could question, the sign had disappeared.

The window opened up again and the man was back. "Good, now what do you want?" he asked rudely.

"We're here to see the Great Black," said Lily.

"You want to see the Great Black?" the man asked. "Everyone wants to see him! I wish he'd just snuff it already! You're wasting my time! I hate this job!"

"No, wait, please don't go!" said Lily. "I've been send by the Good Witch of the North, Andromeda, to see him,"

"Ha! That's a good story," laughed the man coldly. "Why don't you prove it?"

"She has the emerald time-turner!" James said, gesturing his head to the time-turner around Lily's neck.

The man looked down and scowled. "Well then, I s'pose I have to let you in. Hurry up, get in." The door opened, and the four walked inside the Ebony Castle.

Waiting for them was a gleaming ebony carriage, and the driver was quite a scary looking dark-haired old woman.

"Hurry up then!" cried the woman.

The four rushed up to the carriage, and the woman sniffed distinctively. "I smell mudblood and half-breed! Oh, what I would do if that son of mine hadn't done this...Well, where am I to take you?"

"The Wizard," said Lily.

"Oh, him, the nasty traitor. First I think I'll send you to a place where you can tidy up a bit...Merlin knows you need it," said the woman.

"Yeah, you should really be talking," James muttered.

"You say something, Bambi?" the woman roared.

"Uh...no...Of course not," James replied.

"Don't be so unkind, Mrs. B!" shouted a man from the people looking up at the carriage (and the woman scowled at him). This man bore no resemblance to the man at the door and the woman pulling the carriage. Lily supposed he must've been forced to work for them as well as some others, because they were all wearing rather drabby uniforms. The man bent over to Lily. "It's mainly the Blacks who are unkind. The rest of us folk are a cheery sort. Now off you go to be tidied up!

The four friends were all brought into separate rooms to freshen up, and an hour later they all rejoined each other. Lily had on a nice new dress and hairstyle. Remus no longer had torn clothing, and he also did not look quite as ill and tired. James had had his hooves and antlers polished and his fur was now very sleek. And as for Peter, well, he just smelled a lot better.

It was about time, thought James as he noticed the lack of Peter's smell. But then his eyes fell on Lily, who had entered.

"You- you look- very nice," said James. "Not that you didn't before..."

"Thank you, James," she replied. "And you look very -er- dashing yourself. And Remus! It's so nice to see you without those old clothes on!"

Remus looked quite embarrassed about this comment and just gave a smile.

"And me?" asked Peter.

"Well... Peter... You..." said Lily, struggling for words. "You're very- um...."

She was spared from having to find a complement for Peter, because an owl flew to her and dropped a scarlet letter on her head.

"What's that?" Peter asked.

"I don't know," Lily said, taking the letter off her head to read while James, Remus, and Peter crowded around. "It's addressed to me! 'Lily Evans, The Noble Castle of Black, Ebony City'..."

"Um, Lily," Remus began. "I'd...I'd open that if I were you. It's a Howler. And if you don't open it now, it will burst into flames, and I don't think James will like that very much."

"Flames?" James exclaimed. "Hurry up, Lily, open it!"

Lily carefully opened the letter, trying not to rip it, but she soon learned that she didn't need to be so careful because it ripped itself open once she had pried open the seal.

"SURRENDER LILY OR DIE! HA HA HA HA HA HA!" the Howler screamed at her, causing everyone to plug their ears. After shouting at Lily, the Howler ripped itself into shreds and fell onto the ground, and the Ebony City residents ran back inside in a scramble to see the Wizard.