Eyes as Green as a Fresh Pickled Toad

Chapter Twenty
Lily Dies

Bellatrix Black arrived home to find Siegfried Lestrange drunk out of his mind.

"Oh, perfect," she muttered, and glared at him. A half-empty bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky sat on the kitchen counter. Siegfried was in the living room, stumbling around with a glass in his hand, wearing only a T-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts...on his head. He was wailing something, very loudly, and after a moment of careful observation that Bellatrix realized that he was, for some obscure reason, singing the Durmstrang school song.

"For the love of all things magical, Siegfried," Bellatrix snapped, striding over to him and snatching the glass out of his hand. "Stop making that horrible racket and put some clothes on."

"Belllllatwix!" Siegfried slurred, grinning sloppily. He looked very happy to see her, despite the vicious glare she had on her face. "I thhhhought you wwwiked me wwiffout any clllowes on."

Bellatrix yanked the boxer shorts off his head and shoved them into his hands. "Put these around your waist, please."

She walked back into the kitchen, looking for a bottle of Instant Sober-Up Potion. It wasn't the most pleasant stuff in the world--it flushed all of the alcohol out of your system very quickly through your bladder--but Bellatrix wasn't much concerned with the pleasantness of Siegfried's life at the moment. She glanced over at him. He was hopping around the living room on one foot, attempting to put his boxer shorts on.

"You might want to try that sitting down," Bellatrix suggested, and he fell over onto the floor. She sighed deeply and turned back to the cabinet. It was looking rather emptier than usual, due to Siegfried's recent drinking binge, but the Sober-Up Potion was still there. She yanked the cork out of it and poured some into a small shot glass. She figured at this point Siegfried would drink anything as long as it resembled alcohol.

Siegfried stumbled into the kitchen, having successfully pulled his boxer shorts on, and clumsily wrapped his arms around Bellatrix's waist. "You know, Bellatwix, you aaawe vewy pwetty. Have I evahh toowd you thaaat you ah pwetty?"

Bellatrix twisted around in his embrace to face him. "Once or twice. Shot, dear?" She held up the Sober-Up Potion in its shot glass.

Siegfried smiled sloppily and took it, but he didn't drink it right away. "You know wwha, Bellatwix? I wweally llllike you. I thhhink I'd like to be wwiff you fooooevah."

"That's nice, Siegfried. Don't you want to drink your shot?" Bellatrix didn't trust anything Siegfried said while he was drunk.

Siegfried brought the shot glass to his lips, but then stopped as a thought struck him. "You knnnow, I wweally mean it, Bellatwwix. I thhhink we should get mm-mm--mmawwied!"

Bellatrix stared up at him.

"Please tell me you did not just try to propose to me while you were shit-faced drunk."

Siegfried grinned down at her stupidly. "Do you wwant to mawwy me, Bellatwix?"

Bellatrix just blinked at him. She could not believe he was doing this to her. Any time she brought up the subject of commitment, Siegfried abruptly changed the topic, or uncorked a bottle of wine, or came up with some other kind of distraction to avoid discussing it. And now, here he was, so inebriated he would not remember any of this by the time he was sober, and he was trying to propose to her.

Bellatrix wanted to hit him over the head with the bottle of Firewhisky, but resisted the temptation. Instead, she grabbed the bottle and a second shot glass, and stared at him angrily as she poured herself a drink.

"Siegfried," she said, flatly, "Do not ever ask me that question again unless you are perfectly sober and you mean it."

"But I ddooo mmean it, Belllatwix, I--"

"Just drink your damn shot, Siegfried!" Bellatrix yelled, tossing back her own.

Siegfried, looking dopey and a bit disappointed, did as she commanded. He set down his shot glass and stood there for a moment, looking at her happily, until a twinge of concern appeared in his face. The concern grew deeper, until--

"Bellatwix, if you'll exwuuse me, I think I have to go to the--"

But the potion didn't leave him any time to linger, and he ran off to the bathroom before he could finish his sentence. Bellatrix sighed and set about putting away the potion and the Firewhisky. She put the two shot glasses into the sink and sat down at the table to wait for Siegfried to finish relieving himself so she could tell him about their plans for the Christmas holidays.

She still could not believe that he'd tried to propose to her while drunk.

And she further could not believe the little thought that flickered through her head just after he'd said it. It was the wrong place, the wrong time, the completely wrong atmosphere, but...just after Siegfried had said it, one little word flickered into her mind. One little word that had quickly gotten flattened by a train of indignant thought.

Yes.

"Oh, Happy Christmas, Lily dear!"

"Mum, it's not Christmas yet," Lily protested, but her mother ignored her and squished her into a hug.

"I know that, darling," her mother said, still squeezing her, "but it's the holidays now, and it feels so much more like Christmas with you home, and--oh, I'm just glad to see you!" She squeezed Lily still harder.

"You saw me yesterday when you picked me up from King's Cross," Lily reminded her, trying to squirm away from the hug.

"What, and you think I'm tired of seeing you already?"

"You know, mum," Lily commented, her face smushed against her mother's shoulder, "squeezing me harder isn't going to make me any more real."

"Well, maybe not, but it's a fun form of torture, isn't it?" Mrs. Evans reasoned, and finally released her daughter, beaming.

"Oh? And what did I do to deserve torture, pray tell?" Lily asked, taking a seat at the kitchen table, where she, her mother, and Mrs. Potter had gathered to eat lunch.

"You slept in too late. This is what you get for missing breakfast," her mother answered, matter-of-factly.

"Mum, you said it yourself. It's the holidays. There's nothing wrong with catching up on a little sleep."

"Sleep? Who said what about sleep?" James said, shuffling into the kitchen, looking very bleary-eyed.

"James, how marvelous to see you," said Mrs. Potter from the other end of the table. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd died."

"Good morning to you too, mum." James sat down at the table next to Lily. He gave her a sleepy grin and plopped his head onto her shoulder.

"James, it's past noon. Wake up, for goodness' sake. Tea, please," Mrs. Potter intoned, and a large pot of tea appeared on the kitchen table, accompanied by four teacups. "Drink this, James, and stop using Lily as a human pillow."

James grumbled, but lifted his head from Lily's shoulder and poured himself a cup of tea.

"That's better," Mrs. Potter said once he'd woken up a bit.

"Well, now that we're all here," Mrs. Evans said, trading a glance with Mrs. Potter, "there are a couple things we've been meaning to discuss with you two."

Lily glanced back and forth between the mothers uneasily, and then looked at James, who just shrugged.

"We know that you're dating now, of course, and that's wonderful," Mrs. Evans continued. "But having you under the same roof, even just for a few days, is a bit--a bit--well, concerning."

Lily and James looked at each other, and then back at their mothers.

"We'd just like you to...to behave yourselves while you're here, that's all," Mrs. Potter finished, rather bluntly.

Lily and James stared at each other. Lily opened her mouth several times to say something, but never quite got the words out, and her cheeks began to flush fantastically. She looked away from James, embarrassed, and began examining her fingernails.

"Thanks for the lecture, mum," James said finally. "But Lily and I--I mean, we don't--we're not--look, you don't have anything to worry about, all right?"

"Oh, honestly, James, it wasn't a lecture. It was just something that had to be said." Mrs. Potter tried to say this dismissively, but Lily thought she sounded rather relieved. Not that Lily and James hadn't spent several hours snogging last night, but...still. She thought perhaps their mothers were thinking a bit farther than that, and Lily and James hadn't...well, they weren't quite ready to...

Oh, for heaven's sake, they hadn't even said they loved each other yet. It wasn't as though their relationship was getting really serious or anything. Which was just fine with Lily, especially considering she couldn't make up her mind how she felt about James.

She decided to change the subject.

"So, when's Petunia coming?" Lily asked, surprised that this was the first thing that popped into her head.

Mrs. Evans looked slightly uneasy at the question. "Well, dear...you know she feels uncomfortable around magic. Petunia decided to spend an extra couple of days with her boyfriend and his family, and she's going to meet us at the airport on Thursday."

"Oh," Lily replied. She couldn't say she was incredibly disappointed to hear this news, and she couldn't quite think of anything else to say.

But her question eased them into normal conversation again, and James began discussing with his mother the plans he and Lily had for visiting London on Tuesday to meet with Al Schmundertoe.

"So, what are our plans for the brat?" Siegfried asked, cradling his head between his hands. The Sober-Up Potion, though quite effective in most areas, didn't stop him from having a headache.

"We're going to kill her and then steal her necklace. Or...steal her necklace and then kill her. Whichever works best, I suppose," Bellatrix replied, setting a steaming cup of tea in front of Siegfried.

"I know that, Bellatrix. What I mean is...how're we going to do it? Are we going to get her alone, or off her whole family at once, or...what?"

Bellatrix took a sip of her own tea and considered. "Well," she said slowly, "this isn't an authorized mission, so we don't want it to be linked to the Dark Lord. I think it's best if we don't call too much attention to ourselves."

"So...we won't be offing the whole household then?"

"I think it's best if we just take care of the girl. She'll be staying in New York City, you know. What's one dead body in a deserted alleyway? The Muggles will hardly even notice."

"Good planning as always, darling," Siegfried said, and tossed back half of his cup of tea.

"It's not a drink, dear. You should slow down," Bellatrix advised, taking a dainty sip from her own cup.

Siegfried frowned. "You know how I get when I'm hungover, Bellatrix."

"You're not as hungover as you could have been," she muttered.

Siegfried ignored her. "So when are we leaving for America, then? Straightaway?"

"Not until Tuesday. I want to get there before the girl does so we can get familiar with the surroundings."

"Not until Tuesday? Bellatrix, it's only Sunday. You might as well have left me drunk!"

Bellatrix glared at him. "I want you sober while we're packing, thank you very much. And as a matter of fact, I'd rather if you didn't get drunk anymore. It was all very well and good when we were on the Dark Lord's bad side, but the past few weeks he's been giving us more and more important assignments. We're working our way back up, Siegfried, can't you see it? Or are you too lost in your bottle to notice?"

"I'm not lost in anything," he grumbled. "I just like a good drink."

"Yes, well I like a good boyfriend, which is what you aren't when you're drunk."

"That's ridiculous, Bella. I'm so much more open when I'm drunk."

Bellatrix thought of his impromptu proposal, and her cheeks burned. "Yeah, but you're a lot more pathetic in the sack," she snapped, and stood up, tossing her teacup into the sink. She ignored the tinkle of breaking china as she strode out of the room.

Melody was gorgeous again. Gorgeous and fake. She stared at herself in the mirror. A year ago, the image would have made her smile. Every hair in place, every line of her face strategically accented or toned down by spells and make-up for the best possible effect...her blue eyes sparkling, her golden hair glowing, and her expensive jewelry glittering in the candlelight. It was quite an effect, really. Very enviable. She should have been pleased.

But instead she just stared at herself, appalled. I don't even look real. I look like...a statue or a painting or something. And, much like a painting, this outward Melody was little more than an illusion. A striking image stroked onto a troubled canvas.

There was a knock on her door. Statue Melody didn't respond. She just stared at herself in the mirror and let the knocking continue until the person knocking became impatient and walked in. Melody turned her head to see who it was. She could feel a mass of golden curls shift behind her. Her little silver earrings dangled happily. She looked just as beautiful from this angle, she imagined. Equally beautiful and equally fake.

But she forgot that for a moment when she saw who it was. "Catalina!" she cried, smiling genuinely for the first time since she'd arrived in London.

"Oh, Melody, you look wonderful," Catalina said, rushing over to give her a hug. "I was afraid you wouldn't be coming."

"Why wouldn't I be coming?" Melody asked. She wondered what Catalina knew of Hans's plans for Melody.

"Because of the way Hans treated you last summer. I thought maybe you'd...grown tired of his hospitality."

"Oh," Melody said, slipping her gaze away from Catalina's. Clearly, she knew nothing. "My uncle and I have...made amends," she lied, turning back to her dressing table. She fiddled with a tube of lipstick.

"You don't need to put any more of that on. You look perfect already," Catalina told her, smiling. This time Melody could not quite return the grin. Catalina frowned. "Melody, what's the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just...a little tired tonight, that's all."

"Ah. Yes, I heard the festivities last night went on for quite some time."

Melody nodded. "I didn't see you there. Where have you been?"

"I was in Portugal visiting some relatives. I find that I have time for things like that, now...now that I'm no longer with Hans."

"Really?" Melody's head snapped back in Catalina's direction. The older woman sighed.

"Clearly Hans has told you nothing. Though I suspect, with you being as clever as you are, that you have probably discovered that he is quite bankrupt. That is not my reason for leaving him, of course. But ever since he lost his fortune, he's...well, he's changed. I don't really want to go into details, but...I just couldn't be with him anymore, Melody. He's not the man he used to be."

Melody stared down at her dressing table again. Well, she agreed with Catalina on that one. "I'm glad you're here," she said, looking up and smiling again. Catalina reached over and squeezed her hands, returning the smile.

"You're braver than I am, trying to get along with your uncle in the state he's in. He's very lucky to have family like you."

Melody couldn't think of anything to say to this, so she just rose and pulled Catalina into a hug.

"We should get going," she said. "Dinner will be starting soon."

"I still don't see why Sirius had to come," Lily complained for the hundredth time, scowling over at the offending party. Sirius was pointedly ignoring her and concentrating very hard on the map he held in his hands.

"He said he was going to, didn't he? After we visited Zorcoran in Hogsmeade," James reminded her, exasperated. "Besides, we needed a navigator."

"Fat lot of good he's doing us, too. We've circled the same block three times."

"Is it my fault Schmundertoe's directions are ambiguous?" Sirius demanded, squinting at the small, scribbled directions on one corner of the map.

"There's a difference between ambiguous and indecipherable, Sirius," Lily pointed out. "I don't see how you can make out any of his handwriting."

"I can read it just fine. I'm just...not quite sure what he means. He says it's invisible on Tuesdays, so we have to hop the third brick past the sparrow, and knock three times on the tin can to--"

"Oh, please, Sirius, you are making that up. Give me that." Lily snatched the map out of his hands and examined it. "Just because you can't read Schmundertoe's writing doesn't mean you have to invent things and pretend like you can." She squinted down at the map. She did see something that looked kind of like Tuesday, but she didn't see anything that remotely resembled invisible. Of course, she couldn't make anything else out of the scribbles that remotely resembled words, so perhaps she wasn't the best judge.

"I'm not pretending," Sirius replied, irritated, and took the map back. "I'm just an excellent decoder."

"If you were really excellent, wouldn't we be there by now?"

"Everyone's a critic," Sirius muttered, reading over the directions again. "All right," he said, stopping. "Have we passed the bookstore yet?"

"Three times, which is how many times we've circled this block," Lily told him, pointing. "It's back that way. And," she added, checking her watch, "it's almost two o'clock. We're going to be late."

"We'll be fine. Just trust me," Sirius assured her, striding purposefully toward the bookstore. Lily glared at James, but he just shrugged and followed Sirius. Lily sighed and walked after them.

"All right, now what?" she demanded when she caught up.

"Patience," Sirius admonished. "We have to find the sparrow."

Lily looked upward. "I don't see any birds. Except that pigeon, but it flew away."

"I didn't mean up there, Lily-bean, I meant--aha! Look there! What do you call that?"

Lily turned around. Sirius was pointing at the edge of the bookstore's building. Engraved near the bottom was an image of a sparrow. "You've got to be kidding me."

Sirius grinned. "What did I tell you? Now...we've just got to hop the third brick past this sucker and we're home free."

"What about the tin can?" James remembered.

"Psh. Insignificant details." Sirius counted three bricks to the right of the sparrow and stood next to the wall, preparing to jump.

"Sirius, I really don't see how you can jump over that. The brick is kind of...you know...part of a wall," Lily reasoned.

"I'm just going to jump this way, Lily-bean. Kind of...next to and over the brick. You know, above it without really being over it."

"Just jump. We're wasting time."

"All right, kids. Now watch and see how it's done." Sirius furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth for effect. He squatted slightly and curled his hands into fists, swinging his arms back and forth in preparation.

Lily couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Just jump already, would you?"

Sirius shot her a glare and jumped, without any ridiculous preparations, and promptly disappeared.

"D'you...d'you think he's inside?" Lily asked, staring blankly at the empty space in front of her. After all the things she'd seen, this really shouldn't have surprised her, but...but still. It was so...nonsensical. And the fact that Sirius had actually managed to decipher Schmundertoe's directions was both astonishing and infuriating.

"One way to find out," James reasoned, positioning himself next to the bricks. He jumped as well, and also disappeared. Lily sighed and stood next to the wall, feeling slightly ridiculous, but the next second she'd jumped, and bumped into James as she landed.

"You might have given me a second to get out of the way," James grumbled.

Sirius grinned. "Oh, please, James. Like you mind having Lily throw yourself at you."

"I did not throw myself at him, and anyway--where are we?" she asked suddenly, looking around. They appeared to be in the back of a narrow, deserted alley. Neither the street nor the bookstore were in sight.

"Well, we found the tin can," Sirius told her, indicating a rusty can sitting in the middle of the alley. Besides the three teenagers, it was the only thing present. "Lily, take out your wand and tap three times on it."

"If you insist," Lily said, trying to sound exasperated, but at this point she was more curious than she was annoyed. She pulled her wand out of her robes and did as Sirius instructed, and then stood up and stared at the can.

Nothing happened for a moment, but then the can began wobbling. It wobbled faster and faster until it was shuddering and twisting with movement, and Lily noticed that the rust began to disappear. The can bent itself out of shape, quite literally, and twisted itself in what appeared to be a...doorknob. It glinted for a moment as its surface changed from dull, rough tin to shiny, polished silver, and then the doorknob lifted off the ground and zoomed toward the wall, lodging itself firmly into the brick.

As soon as the doorknob was in place, the wall melted away, and in its place formed a long, white building, with gaudy golden front doors framed by a set of windows. The street and the bookstore re-materialized around them, and as Lily re-oriented herself, the rest of Schmundertoe's building organized itself between the bookstore and a health food store. Lily stared as the shiny silver doorknob shifted until it sat directly in the middle of the door.

"Geez," Lily said after a moment. "Is it always this hard to get to?"

"No, just on Tuesdays. It's closed on Tuesdays," Sirius informed her, sounding a little too pleased with himself. He pulled open one of the golden doors and motioned for Lily to go in ahead of him.

Lily stepped into the shop and looked around. It was pretty, but not overly impressive. The carpet was a reddish sort of maroon. What few decorations there were on the cream-colored walls were all gold, but those weren't really noticeable. The prominent feature in Schmundertoe's store were the dozens of glass display cases that filled the length of the room. Most were octagonal in shape, and stood equidistant from one another, sparkling with expensive jewels and watches. The most noticeable display case, however, was the long counter that ran the entire width of the room in the back.

Lily walked through the store to the back counter, and glanced around, looking for Schmundertoe. She turned around and frowned at James and Sirius. Except for the three teenagers, Schmundertoe's shop was completely empty.

"Well, well, well, there you are!" came a voice from behind the counter. Lily jerked slightly in surprise and turned around. Standing behind the counter was a short old man. He had a rather large nose and round spectacles that magnified his eyes. Large tufts of white hair stuck out in a ring around his head, framing his bald spot. He wore a white oxford shirt under a green vest, and the gold chain of a pocket watch hung across his stomach.

Schmundertoe took the pocket watch out and examined it. "Three and a half minutes late, but it will do. You must be Miss Evans."

Lily nodded.

"And these two are--?" he queried, indicating James and Sirius.

Lily turned around and considered. The boys were trying to look innocent and harmless, which didn't quite work for them. "A nuisance," she told Schmundertoe, turning back around.

Schmundertoe's whole face crinkled into a smile, and he laughed heartily for a moment. "Very well. You and the two nuisances may come to the back."

He turned around and began walking toward the back room. Lily was about to open her mouth and protest that she didn't know how to get around the counter, when the counter suddenly split in the middle and separated into a gap wide enough for Lily to walk through.

"Nuisances?" James hissed into her ear.

Lily had to suppress a giggle. "Hey, Schmundertoe thought it was funny."

"That's all right, James. Why don't you just stop kissing her for a few days and then see how much of a nuisance she thinks you are?" Sirius suggested.

"Not a bad idea," James replied as they entered the back room.

A large oak desk sat on the right side of the room, with one chair on each side. On top sat several silver instruments that Lily could not identify, though the largest one looked like a...set of magnifying glasses, she thought. On the wall hung a glass case with several more unfamiliar silver instruments, but other than that the room was bare.

"Have a seat there, Miss Evans," Schmundertoe said, indicating the chair on the near side of the desk. "I'll draw up some chairs for these nuisances." His face crinkled in amusement again as he said it, and Lily thought James looked a bit sulky as Schmundertoe produced two chairs for the boys with his wand. "Well, enough of that joke. Would you gentlemen care for some tea?"

Schmundertoe produced a table, a teapot, and some crumpets without waiting for a response. "Make yourselves comfortable," he advised. "This may take a while."

Schmundertoe sat down across from Lily. He pulled a notebook and a quill out of a drawer, and set them on top of the desk next to his wand. "Now then," he said. "Let's have a look at your necklace." He extended his hand.

"Um...sir, it can't...it can't come off."

"I know. Zorcoran sent his notes ahead to me. Just lean over."

Lily scooted toward the desk and complied, leaning over until she was close enough for Schmundertoe to take the pendant in his hands.

"Ah, good. Now then..." Schmundertoe, fixated on the necklace, didn't seem to notice Lily's discomfort. He pulled out his wand and tapped Lily's necklace with it several times, muttering to himself and taking notes. Lily tried not to fidget, but she was beginning to get a crick in her neck. She tried to stretch her neck a little, hoping it wouldn't disturb Schmundertoe. He glanced up at her briefly and went back to his muttering. Lily waited as patiently as she could, as the ache in her neck spread to her back and then to her calves, and then finally--finally--something happened.

Schmundertoe tapped the necklace with his wand again, and a great gold shimmer ran through the length of the chain. He was now muttering in a language Lily didn't recognize. He put the tip of his wand on the necklace where it met Lily's neck, and stroked the chain until he hit the golden L pendant that hung upon it. The necklace shimmered again, and then...lengthened. Lily watched with wide eyes as Schmundertoe stroked the necklace several more times, and then grinned up at her.

"You can sit down now."

Lily nodded and plopped into her seat, staring at the necklace. Its chain was at least two feet long. She wondered... "Mr. Schmundertoe, since the chain is so long now...d'you think it might be easier if I just took the necklace off?"

"No!" Schmundertoe said urgently. "You must never try to take this necklace off."

"Because it would...hurt me if I tried?" Lily swallowed, thinking of Laurelle.

"On the contrary, Miss Evans, this necklace was created explicitly to protect you."

"But then why--"

"If anyone--anyone, including you, Miss Evans--tries to prevent this necklace from doing what it was created to do...then the necklace will do whatever is necessary to protect itself."

"So it has a...mind of its own?"

"No, Miss Evans. As far as I can tell, it has no more of a mind than my pocket watch. But I am not finished examining it yet. I know it is frustrating, but trust me--I will be able to give you a much more thorough explanation of the necklace if you let me finish taking notes on it before you start asking me questions about it."

Lily nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. "Sorry for interrupting you."

"Not at all," Schmundertoe said, a little absentmindedly, as he'd gone back to examining the necklace. He was now running the chain through his bare hands. He had his eyes closed, as though he were searching for something by touch alone, but Lily couldn't imagine what. "Excellent craftsmanship," he muttered. "Very smooth chain."

Lily glanced over at James and Sirius, but they didn't look like they knew what Schmundertoe was talking about either. What did the smoothness of the chain matter?

"Hmm," he said, still running the chain through his hands. "Mm...mmm...ah...ah!" Schmundertoe opened his eyes and stared at the chain excitedly. Apparently he'd hit a snag. Lily stared down at the section of chain in Schmundertoe's fingers and saw...absolutely nothing.

"This is it!" Schmundertoe cried.

Lily couldn't help herself. "What's it?" she demanded.

But Schmundertoe didn't seem to care that she was breaking his concentration. "This--this--it's the source, the source! Most necklaces don't have these, they're just--mmhm--but this--this one's smarter, yes it is, and it's all contained in one place, one very tricky place--this is wonderful--I have to see it--"

Lily looked over at James and Sirius. They just stared at her helplessly.

Schmundertoe ignored all of them and dragged one of his silver instruments across the desk. It was the largest one, the one Lily thought looked like magnifying glasses--and now, she saw, as Schmundertoe stood up to peer into them, she was right. The jewelry maker turned on a lamp and flipped all of the magnifying glasses to one side of the contraption, so they were all aligned for the highest possible magnification.

"There it is!" he cried. "Come--come--you must come and see this," he said, motioning to Lily and the boys excitedly. "Oh, it's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Just look. Look!"

Lily stood on her tiptoes to lean over and peer through the magnifying glasses. At first she couldn't see anything--just a bit of gold chain in between Schmundertoe's obscenely magnified fingers--but then she shifted, and something sparkled under the light, and she saw it. Right there, lodged into one of the tiny eyelets of the fine golden chain, something red and ruby-like glinted.

"There, right there, that explains it all!"

"Explains what all?" Lily asked curiously.

"Why the magic's still so strong after so many thousands of years. Why the pendant's practically useless," he added, flicking the shiny golden L with his index finger. "But, most importantly," he continued, "it explains why the necklace is linked to both you"--he nodded at Lily--"and him."

Schmundertoe's gaze traveled to James, and Lily's gaze traveled with his. James just stared at him, completely bewildered.

Schmundertoe laughed. "Come, come, everyone sit down. I must finish this."

The teenagers complied, baffled into silence.

Schmundertoe's examination of the necklace lasted another hour and a half, during which the teenagers were allowed to ask no questions. It was a very frustrating wait.

Schmundertoe amassed more than twenty pages of notes during that time, and, once he was finally done looking at the necklace, he demanded another half an hour alone to look over his notes and collect his thoughts. During that time, he asked Lily, James, and Sirius to wait in the hallway just outside the back room. Lily paced nervously, fiddling with her necklace, Sirius leaned against the wall, tapping his fingers anxiously, and James sat on the floor, frowning across at the other wall.

"What does he mean, it's linked to me?"

Lily sighed and stopped pacing. "I don't know, James. You're the one who gave it to me. Maybe that has something to do with it."

"Maybe."

Lily went back to pacing.

"D'you think he'll be out soon?"

"I don't know," Lily snapped.

The door to the back room opened, and all three teenagers turned their heads toward it. Schmundertoe emerged, looking rather worn out. He had his eyeglasses in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, and was using the handkerchief to clean his lenses.

"Come in, come in," he said, gesturing, and his guests wasted no time in complying. Lily eagerly took her seat by Schmundertoe's desk again and waited for him to sit down and explain.

Schmundertoe closed the door behind them and resumed his seat behind the desk. He picked up his note pad and flipped through several pages of notes before setting it down again and looking around at his three visitors. "There's no need to stay in the corner any longer," he said, gesturing to James and Sirius. "Please, come closer."

James and Sirius pulled their chairs up by the desk and positioned themselves on either side of Lily. They sat and stared at Schmundertoe, waiting.

"I haven't decided what would be easier," Schmundertoe confessed, after a moment, "so I'm going to let you decide. Would you rather ask me questions about the necklace, or listen to me waffle on about everything I've discovered?"

Lily looked between Sirius and James, but they just shrugged at her. She rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to Schmundertoe, fidgeting. "I have so many questions. I...well, first of all, what's the red stone for?"

Schmundertoe flipped through his notebook eagerly, muttering softly as he located the right page of notes. "Well, Miss Evans," he began, glancing up from his notes, "I'm not entirely sure. I have a few facts and numerous speculations. The facts first." Schmundertoe glanced down at his notes again, and then back up at Lily.

"It is...the source of the necklace's power, you might say. It is the base of the object--the one thing to which all the enchantments of the necklace are bound." A frown line etched itself into Schmundertoe's forehead when he said this, but if something was bothering him, he didn't comment on it. "I am not sure precisely what the stone is," he confessed, "which, as a jeweler, is very distressing. I'm afraid it's too small to study thoroughly, and though it glints like a ruby, it just doesn't...feel to me like a ruby. Do you understand what I mean?"

Lily traded glances with her friends. "Not...not really, sir. I'm sorry."

Schmundertoe nodded and rifled through his notes again. "Well, I--hm." He scratched his head, making some of his hair stick up on end, and thought about it for a moment. "No, I don't have a better explanation for it than that. I'm very sorry. What is your next question?"

"I'd like to know more about this ruby," Lily pressed, "or...whatever it is. What are your speculations about it?"

"And why," James said suddenly, "did you say it was linked to me?"

"Because it is," Schmundertoe said. "The enchantments around the necklace are linked both to Miss Evans and to you. I may have gotten a bit carried away in my excitement before. Upon further thought I realized that much of what I originally exclaimed about the ruby may have been...a tad inaccurate. You must understand that everything I say about the ruby from this point on is merely guesswork."

Lily nodded eagerly and waited for him to explain.

"The ruby, I believe, is not entirely a ruby. I think it may hold an extremely tiny drop of the blood of its crafter. And its crafter, in turn," Schmundertoe continued, turning his attention to James, "must be related to you."

"Godric Gryffindor," Lily breathed, taking hold of the necklace. "It was crafted by Godric Gryffindor."

"Goodness, was it?" Schmundertoe said. "Zorcoran certainly didn't include that in his report." He hurriedly flicked the pages of his notebook aside until he found a blank one, and began scribbling away again. "That's interesting," he muttered. "Very interesting...." He looked up briefly. "I don't suppose there's anything else about the necklace you've neglected to tell me?"

Lily's cheeks flushed. "I--I'm sorry, sir. You didn't ask."

"That is true," Schmundertoe conceded. "Please, tell me what you know."

"Well," Lily said slowly, "I'm not sure all of my information is completely accurate. I...read a report about the necklace, and much of the report was speculation. I am not even entirely sure that Gryffindor was the crafter; it just...makes sense." James and Sirius were both staring at her, and she shrugged at them, embarrassed. "I never got a chance to tell you about my dr--I mean, about the report I, um...read."

She proceeded to divulge all she had learned about the necklace through Livana's report, with James and Sirius staring at her and Schmundertoe scribbling notes the whole time. When she'd finished, Schmundertoe looked up at her expectantly.

"And that's it? Did the report give any sort of explanation for the variation in the necklace's powers?" Schmundertoe was referring to the phenomenon by which some of the necklace's owners witnessed a great deal of magic cast by the necklace, and others experienced nothing unusual about the necklace at all.

Lily shook her head. "I never quite finished reading it. I'm sorry."

"No, don't worry about apologies," Schmundertoe said, waving his hand dismissively and staring down at his notebook again. "Different types of powers, you said...variations, variations...." He started muttering again, chewing on the end of his pencil.

"You had another dream, didn't you?" James whispered, and Lily nodded. James frowned. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I guess it slipped my mind," Lily whispered back. "I'm sorry."

"A dream? Zorcoran's report did mention you having dreams," Schmundertoe said. "Did you get all of this information from a dream?"

"Well...yes," Lily said reluctantly.

"Then why did you say you read it in a report? That makes a difference."

"I did read it in a report," Lily insisted. "In the dream, I...I was writing the report. But it...well, it wasn't really me, because I didn't know anything about the necklace, but the person I was in the dream knew all about the necklace, and she was writing a report, and as she wrote it I got to read it, so...that was just as useful," she ended lamely. "That doesn't sound very credible, does it?"

"If it's a dream you got from the memory of the necklace, then I'd say it's more credible than half my speculations," Schmundertoe said, smiling at her kindly. For the first time, Lily noted, he really looked like an old man. Smiling crinkled all the wrinkles in his face, and his eyes had a sort of...grandfatherly twinkle in them, she thought. Lily didn't really remember her grandparents, so she wasn't really sure if his eyes looked grandfatherly or not, but they looked like the eyes of the grandfather she hoped she'd had.

"Memories," Lily murmured. "I'm sorry, Mr. Schmundertoe, but I just don't see how an object without a mind of its own could possibly have memories of its own."

"Don't apologize, don't apologize. That's a perfectly legitimate concern. An object as powerful as this one, with as many enchantments as it's been given over the years, is lucky not to have run into some sort of dark magic that would implant it with a mind. No good kind of magic would ever give an object a mind of its own. You see...." Schmundertoe frowned for the second time, and this time four creases appeared in his forehead instead of one. He mulled over his words carefully before continuing.

"It is impossible to create a mind out of nothing. It is possible to charm objects, yes, and to make these objects tap dance or sing or talk--but those sorts of charms do not last, and are almost entirely dependent on the will of the wizard controlling them. The 'mind' for the object, you see, comes from the wizard, and not the object itself."

"What about the front doors at Hogwarts?" Sirius asked. Lily and James both turned their heads toward him, surprised. "They are enchanted, and they are only made of wood, but they can be taught to recognize people through pictures and deny them entry to the school, and not to open during certain times of the day. Taught, and not charmed. What about things like that?"

"Ah, but that's different," Schmundertoe said, looking delighted with Sirius's point. "I remember those doors. I was at Hogwarts once, too. Gryffindor House, you know." He looked rather wistful for a moment, and then got back to his point. "The doors are made of wood--the finest kind. Wood that has been crafted in such a fine way as the front doors of Hogwarts still retains some of its old spirit--a bit of the soul it had as a living tree. It does not take much enchantment to reawaken the memory of life in objects like those."

"Well...then what kind of magic could implant a mind into an object?" Lily asked.

Schmundertoe hesitated. "There is only one kind of magic," he said slowly, "that could do such a thing. I have only ever heard of it, and never seen it performed--not that I'd want to--but I gather that it is one of the Darkest and most complicated spells in our world." He stopped again and sighed, looking reluctant to continue. "I am not even sure of the name of the spell," he admitted. "But after the spell was performed, the object would no longer be merely an object. It would be a...a Horcrux."

"What exactly does that do?" Lily asked, when Schmundertoe didn't continue.

He sighed again. "Casting the spell to make a Horcrux transfers part of the soul of a wizard--and therefore part of his conscious self--into an inanimate object. It is a way to...try to preserve part of yourself, I suppose. But it is a very dark magic, and hardly worth the cost."

Sirius swore under his breath, and three pairs of eyes swiveled to look at him.

"That's what the blasted old coot was trying to make," he muttered, and shook his head. Sirius glanced up and noticed that everyone was looking at him. "Don't mind me."

"Sirius, what are you talking about?" Lily asked.

Sirius sighed. Even Schmundertoe was looking at him curiously. "It's my Great Uncle Augustus. He was trying to make one of those Horcruxes, once, and kept failing. He was at our house for summer holidays, and got drunk one day and started blathering on about his immortal soul, and how he was sure he wasn't going to heaven, so...well, I'm not really sure what he was thinking, but I guess he thought if he preserved part of his soul in an object, he'd never really make it to heaven or hell, and he could just kind of...half-exist. I guess."

"If he didn't want to face the afterlife, couldn't he have just turned into a ghost when he died?" James asked

"He hated ghosts. And if he had become one, I don't think he would have had any place to haunt. He hated people, hated cities, hated the countryside...come to think of it, I don't know that he liked much of anything, except maybe money."

"Well, he sounds like a charming fellow," Lily said.

Sirius's face darkened. "Oh, he was the greatest. Used to practice the Imperius Curse on me when my parents weren't around."

Lily was shocked, but James didn't look very surprised.

"But...but that's an Unforgivable Curse!" Schmundertoe cried.

"Yeah, well, I haven't forgiven him for it, so the curse is true to its name, if you ask me. It doesn't matter now, though. He's been dead for a few years."

"Sirius," Lily said softly. "Is that why...before they picked us for Auror Training...I mean, when Moody..."

"Yeah," Sirius said. "I've had a bit of practice."

"Something should have been done." Schmundertoe shook his head. He repeated himself, softly. "Something should have been done."

Sirius folded his arms and stared straight ahead. "It's in the past now. Doesn't matter." An awkward silence hung in the room for a few seconds, and then Sirius said, "Let's just get back to the necklace. If...if it doesn't have a mind of its own, how can it have a memory? Wasn't that your question, Lily?"

Lily nodded, and looked at Schmundertoe expectantly. The frown line appeared in his forehead again as he thought.

"All objects have memories," he said finally, "even if they do not have minds. To have a mind suggests that you have...reason. The ability to think logically, to speculate, to construe. Memories are just...memories. They do not have personalities or preferences or feelings of their own--although your perception of those memories is indeed altered by your preferences and feelings. But the recollection of places you have been and things you have seen or touched are merely experiences. Sensory experiences. They require no real reason or thinking, and so can exist in many objects. Again, the interpretation of memories requires a mind, but to exist, memories require no logic whatsoever. In fact," he added, as the thought struck him, "that is why Pensieves work.

"Pensieves, if you've never used one, are objects which hold thoughts and memories that you extract from your own mind. They allow you to...clear your head a bit, and examine events from a more objective point of view. And, as I was saying, they work because memories, though an inherent part of your experiences, are not inherent in the rhetorical part of your mind--the part that makes your mind worth having, you see.

"The necklace, I believe, is merely a...vessel. It carries many spells, almost too many for me to discover if I had a lifetime to work with it, and it has been further enchanted to carry out those spells at nearly any cost. I believe that any object with that much magic around it begins to soak up a little of whatever magic it comes in contact with--and that would include the personal magic of all of its owners. This would, in turn, contribute to the strength of any memories the necklace carried, by linking it to its wearers through magic even more heavily. And I expect that a smart owner would be able to harness some of the necklace's power for herself, as well."

Lily mulled this over. "That does make sense," she said finally. "I think I understand what you mean."

Schmundertoe smiled again. "Good! Now, do you have any other questions?"

Schmundertoe spent another half an hour sharing his speculations with Lily, James, and Sirius, but most of his conjectures were ones that Lily herself had made already. He did give a useful suggestion for why the necklace's powers varied from owner to owner; he guessed that it might have something to do with the lady in question having Gryffindor blood or not.

When it seemed like they had discussed all they could discuss, Schmundertoe requested an audience with Lily alone, and kicked James and Sirius out of the store, advising the boys to keep themselves busy for the next half hour or so. Once he'd got rid of Lily's companions, he rejoined Lily in the back room.

"Miss Evans," Schmundertoe said, removing his glasses to massage his forehead, "have you ever met anyone who expressed any interest in the necklace as more than just a necklace?"

"Yes."

Schmundertoe looked at her sharply. His eyes looked very small without his glasses, but they didn't seem to lose any of their focus. Lily wondered if he needed glasses at all.

"Miss Evans, there are treasure hunters in this world who would unblinkingly take your life if they thought it might mean riches and glory. And in this case, what you hold is mostly glory."

"What, it isn't real gold?" Lily asked, attempting to make a joke. Schmundertoe gave a very faint grin.

"I wasn't sure until I saw it that it was the right necklace, but now I am certain. Zorcoran hinted that he thought that was what it was, but--well, I must say I didn't believe it actually would be."

"I'm a little confused," Lily admitted. "What exactly makes the necklace so famous? Well--not famous precisely, since most people don't seem to have a clue there is anything unusual about it. But...what exactly had you heard about it, before you saw it?"

"Well, I'm sure you understand how it is with legends and all, Miss Evans. But some say that the necklace has such power, it can actually save the wearer from death. Of course, if the necklace works differently for different people, then this wouldn't be true for all wearers, would it?"

"It doesn't seem like it could be true at all. I don't mean to sound cynical, it's just..." Lily trailed off, unsure of what to say. Schmundertoe didn't speak, and she felt the urge to continue, if only to fill the silence. "Death gets to you after a while, you know? It's so...permanent." This, Lily thought, was a stupid thing to say, but she couldn't think of anything else to say, so she stopped speaking.

"Yes," Schmundertoe agreed softly. "Thus the desire to prevent it. Miss Evans, who was it who inquired about your necklace, if you don't mind me asking?"

"A night club owner. Monsieur--Gerard, I think it was."

Schmundertoe sighed. "No one I recognize. He must just be a collector, then."

"Yes. That's what he said."

"At least he's done his research. Most collectors just buy the jewels and don't know how to take care of them properly. Anyone who's done enough reading to hear about your necklace must be well-read indeed."

"Or just lucky," Lily suggested. "It took me ages to find anything about enchanted necklaces, and the only way I learned about Livana was--well, through this," she said, fiddling with her pendant. She thought of something. "Mr. Schmundertoe, when you said that the pendant was useless, what--what did you mean exactly?"

"It's...just a pendant," he replied, shrugging. "Just a decoration. It has nothing to do with the necklace's power whatsoever. Except," he added, slipping his glasses on again, "there is one spell on the pendant and the pendant alone."

"What's that?"

"The permanence spell that prevents anyone from changing the pendant to another letter besides 'L.'"

"Oh. That. How can you...how can you tell what spells the necklace has on it?"

Schmundertoe smiled, removing his glasses again. "Partly experience, partly with the help of this,"--he held up his wand--"but mostly, with the help of these." He held up his spectacles. "They help me see magic."

"Where did you get them? That's--that's fantastic!"

"I made them," he said proudly. "Took me fifty years. If I ever lose them, I don't know what I'll do."

"I would cry," Lily said honestly, and Schmundertoe laughed.

"Come now," he said, rising. "Your friends will be waiting."

As he escorted her out of the back room and into the shop, which was still empty, he said, "I'm normally not open on Tuesdays, Miss Evans, but if you see anything you like, I would be willing to make a sale."

"Oh," Lily said. "Well--I wasn't quite planning on shopping. I'm not sure I have enough money for any of this."

"Special discount today," Schmundertoe said, winking. "I'm willing to negotiate."

Lily couldn't resist. She began looking through the glass cases eagerly, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over diamond earrings and emerald rings. She wasn't spellbound, however, by any jewelry. It occurred to her that she hadn't quite found the right present for James, and when she got to a display case full of watches, she was struck by a certain silver one with a gorgeous blue watch face.

Schmundertoe, sensing a sale, joined her by the display case. "Find something?"

"How much for that watch?" she asked, indicating the one she'd seen.

"Well, let's see now," Schmundertoe said, tapping his wand on the glass. It disappeared, and he removed the watch. "This is a very fine watch. Took three months to craft. See, here--different time zones, compass, health monitors--very useful. Entirely waterproof, too. I took great pleasure in making it."

"It's lovely," Lily breathed. "I don't think I can afford it."

"Now, wait a minute," Schmundertoe insisted. "How much do you think it's worth?"

"More than I've got."

"Well, how much have you got?"

Lily rifled through her pockets. She thought they might eat while in London, so she'd gotten a twenty pound note from her mum, and in her other pocket found five Galleons, two Sickles, and a Knut. She sighed. "Only twenty pounds. I'm sorry--that's not even wizarding currency. And then--five Galleons. That's not very much at all, is it?"

Schmundertoe smiled. "Consider it a gift. I'll take the twenty pounds and five Galleons--that is, if you're willing to spend it."

"Mr. Schmundertoe, you can't--I mean, I--well, that watch must be--it can't be worth only twenty pounds--"

"Please, Miss Evans. Don't fret over the cost. I'd like for you to have it."

"Sir, it's not even really for me, it's-"

Schmundertoe held up his hands. "Don't argue. I insist."

"But--but I--I mean...well...all right. If you insist."

Sirius waited outside for Lily, feeling bored. James had run off to buy...something...and he was supposed to wait for Lily so that when she was finally done talking to Schmundertoe, she wouldn't come outside and think the boys had deserted her.

"Where's James?"

"There you are!" Sirius said, relieved. "Sure took you long enough."

"It was very important," Lily informed him, sounding rather distant. "But really, where's James?"

"I dunno. He ran off...somewhere. He'll be back before long."

Lily didn't look too pleased with this, but just then James came around the corner. "Speak of the devil," Sirius said.

"All done, Lily?" James asked as he neared them.

"Seems that way. Where have you been?"

"Oh, nowhere. Took a stroll around the block."

"Sure you did," Lily said sarcastically, but she shook her head and let it go.

"Well, you two kids enjoy yourselves. I think I'm headed off," Sirius said.

"Why? Where are you in such a hurry to get to?" Lily asked.

"True love awaits," he said, grinning.

"Ah. Melody," Lily said. "I forgot. I wonder how she's doing with her uncle?"

Melody could scarcely breathe. She was wrapped so tightly into her dress she was amazed she could sit. Is this what corsets feel like? she wondered, attempting to adjust the fabric around her waist. Her dress this evening was red, long, and rather pretty, but it wasn't quite her size, and Melody was convinced one of her ribs had been bruised during the dreadful putting-on process she'd experienced half an hour earlier. She didn't make much headway in rearranging her dress before a servant came into the front hall and bowed to her.

"Dinner is ready, madam. Please, this way."

Melody nodded and picked up her skirts, following him down the hall to a large, beautiful dining room decorated in rich greens. Her chair at the table was plush, comfortable, and cushioned in green as well, but even that could not quite make her feel at ease in the vicious red garment.

She didn't have much time to look around before Lucifer Malfoy entered. He smiled at her before taking his seat at the head of the table. Melody was seated on his left.

"I am glad you agreed to have dinner with me, Miss Cauldwell," he said, as a bottle of wine and two glasses appeared on the table. "Wine?"

"Yes. I thank you for inviting me to dine with you this evening, sir."

Lucifer smiled as he poured her wine. "It sounds so formal, coming from you."

"It is formal."

Lucifer retained his grin and lifted his wine glass. "A toast."

"To what?" Melody held her glass up next to his.

He studied her for a moment, his eyes glinting in the candlelight. "To youth," he said, and nodded at her before taking his drink. Melody raised an eyebrow and took a sip of her wine, studying him carefully.

Lucifer was older--much older than her--but she wasn't sure by how much. He must have been nearly Hans's age, but he didn't look it. He was still lean and fit, and far more attractive than Hans could ever be. His hair betrayed him a little; it was graying slightly, and it showed most in the strands just above his ears. He was surprisingly nice to look at, Melody thought, and she shifted her gaze away from him before he caught her looking.

"What do you think of my home, Miss Cauldwell?"

"I have only seen the front hall and the dining room. I don't think I can accurately say."

"I should take you for a tour after dinner."

Melody considered this, and her stomach twisted uncertainly. "Perhaps some other time. I am feeling a little tired tonight," she told him. "I'm not sure that I am up to a tour of such a--luxurious house." She wondered briefly if it was a mistake to say this. Did she sound too much like she wanted him to ask her back? That wasn't what she meant at all.

"Luxurious," Lucifer repeated. "I'm pleased you think so."

Melody raised her eyebrow at him again. "Why, don't you think so?"

He smiled again. He unfortunately looked very handsome when he smiled. But there was still something about him that Melody didn't like. It was...his eyes, she decided. They were too cold, too calculating. Like her uncle's, but not desperate, not greedy. He did look amused, though, at least for the moment, and that surprised her so much she returned his smile.

"I'm afraid I'm not at home as often as I would like, Miss Cauldwell. My evaluation of the manor is not as critical as it once was."

"Well, it's a very fine house, sir," Melody said. "I'd be proud to live in it."

Lucifer took a sip of his wine and regarded her with interest. "Would you?"

Melody was just trying to be gracious, but she got the distinct and unpleasant feeling that Lucifer was taking her words for more than they were worth.

"Of--of course," she said, feeling a bit flustered. "I mean, who wouldn't?" She couldn't stand those cold eyes gazing at her like that. She took solace in her glass of wine.

"Thirsty?" Lucifer inquired, leaning back in his chair. He looked quite at ease, but Melody still felt a bit unpleasant.

"And hungry. Both," Melody said, hoping the unpleasant flush in her cheeks wasn't too evident. Was it the wine or the company? she wondered. "What's--what's for dinner?" Oh dear--that didn't sound too crass, did it? No one ever asked what they were going to be served at parties, they just ate it without complaining.

"Lamb," Lucifer replied. "I hope you don't object?"

"No, of course not." She wasn't particularly fond of lamb, but at least he wasn't offended by her question.

There were too many rules for this high-society thing, she thought. And it was so much more nerve-wracking eating dinner with just one society snob than it was with twenty. At least with twenty, she didn't have to speak unless somebody asked her a question. But here--she supposed Lucifer expected her to be interesting and clever and whatnot. And that gaze of his...she wondered if he was practiced at reading minds. Melody had meant to take up Occlumency, but with all her dueling practice and...everything else that had been going on in her life...she'd never gotten around to it. So if Lucifer Malfoy was trying to snoop around in her mind, she really couldn't tell.

This thought twisted her stomach around some more. She didn't give Hans enough credit to be a Legilimens, but Lucifer Malfoy was on another level altogether. And if he could see into her mind...well...suffice it to say that no matter where Melody's thoughts drifted, her thoughts about Sirius always drifted along behind, just waiting for an opportunity to surge forward.

Sirius, she thought, and felt a rush of happiness. He was coming to visit her--soon--and although it would be tricky to conceal her feelings for him around Hans, she didn't care. She'd do anything for a chance to spend more time with Sirius. She missed him already, and she'd only been in London for four days. Pathetic, she thought, but she was happy that she even had a reason to miss him. He was her boyfriend now. Hers. All hers.

"It's amazing, isn't it, how mesmerizing flames can be?"

Oh, shit, Melody thought. She hadn't even realized she'd been staring at the candles until Lucifer spoke. How long had she been thinking about Sirius?

"It's so easy to get lost in thoughts. In memories," Lucifer continued, refilling their wine glasses. He leaned back into his chair and looked at Melody. She continued staring into the flames. It was easier than looking at Lucifer. "What were you thinking about?"

"School," Melody replied. She thought of the long afternoon she'd shared with Sirius in MHQ, in front of the fireplace.

"Hans tells me you've been attending Hogwarts."

"Yes. This is my last year."

"And how do you like it there?"

"I enjoy it." She finally looked away from the flames. Lucifer was looking into his wine glass now, swirling the liquid around gently.

"How old are you this year, Miss Cauldwell?"

"I'll be eighteen shortly. My birthday's in January."

"Eighteen," Lucifer murmured, taking another sip of wine. He did not look back at her, and Melody's gaze dropped to her plate. She wondered again how old Lucifer was. In his forties, at least. Maybe older.

Just then the lamb arrived, materializing in the middle of the table, steaming and looking rather juicy and sumptuous.

"Ah, there you are, Miss Cauldwell. Enough to sate anyone's hunger. Here, allow me to cut. I hope you enjoy your meal."

Melody arrived in her rooms after dinner feeling very drained. Eating with Lucifer had been as much of a mental challenge as it had been a physical challenge. She felt like Lucifer added an extra weight to her words. She had never had to monitor her speech so carefully before. It was exhausting.

As for the physical challenge--her damned dress prevented her from eating as much as she liked, and she arrived back at the hotel feeling nearly as hungry as when she'd arrived at Malfoy's manor.

Melody stripped off the red dress as quickly as she could and immediately sent out for room service. She didn't anticipate a visit from Hans--or anyone else who would care how she looked--and changed into her most comfortable set of pajamas, letting her stomach relax and her posture sag. She let down her hair, too, releasing it from its tight coil, and washed her face happily, unclogging the heavy make-up from her pores.

She smiled at herself once she felt natural again, and appreciated the somewhat red and splotchy face of the girl in the mirror.

Ah, freedom, she thought, sighing, and walked back into her sitting room to await the arrival of her late-night tray of goodies. When there was a knock on her door, she answered it promptly, and--

"Sirius?"

The tall, dark, and handsome boy in her doorway grinned. "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Room service, actually, but--Sirius!" she squealed, losing her composure and throwing her arms around him. He laughed and returned her hug. "I didn't think I'd see you tonight," she said, gesturing for him to come in. She closed the door behind him.

"I didn't think so either. When I checked in they said you'd be out for the night."

"Ooh, divulging my personal information, were they?"

Sirius grinned. "It's funny what the name 'Black' can do for you every once in a while, isn't it?"

"Well, I guess I wouldn't know, now would I?" Melody replied, leading him into the kitchenette. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"You have your own kitchenette and you still ordered room service?"

"Well, I haven't exactly had time to stock it. All I have are some drinks--pumpkin juice, water, um...pumpkin juice...."

"I'm fine," Sirius said. He looked around, taking in the expanse of Melody's suite with a critical eye. "Very nice suite. Is your uncle trying to make things up to you?"

"I suppose," Melody lied, shrugging. She didn't really want to discuss her uncle with Sirius. "What have you been up to?" she asked, slipping her arms around his waist. "I missed you." She looked up at him with a kind of inviting gaze, and, just as she hoped, he dropped the conversation about her uncle.

"I missed you too," he agreed, and leaned down to kiss her.

Melody got so caught up in it that she nearly didn't hear the knock on the door from room service.

"I love this place around Christmas," Lily said, sighing happily. She and James were walking through the indoor gardens, hand in hand, carrying their Christmas presents for each other. They were taking their sweet time getting around to exchanging gifts, because once that was over with they wouldn't have much of an excuse for wandering off alone, and besides they'd have to start thinking about saying good-bye. Lily was leaving for America tomorrow, and while she wouldn't be gone terribly long, she would still miss James. A part of her wished that she were going to be staying at Potter's Cottage for Christmas instead.

She would miss the indoor gardens, she thought, gazing around. Most parts of the garden were blanketed in fake, magical snow--though places like the beach had been spared--and all of it was decorated for the holidays with fairy lights, tinsel, ribbons, wreaths, and, of course, floating mistletoe--which Lily and James occasionally used to their advantage.

They wandered into a grove of pine trees. The largest tree was decorated from tip to trunk with lights and ornaments. Lily decided that this would be the perfect place to exchange gifts, and plopped down on the snow, pulling James with her.

"Tired of walking?" he asked, grinning.

Lily smiled back. "I just thought we should exchange presents near some sort of Christmas tree."

"Sounds good to me," James agreed. "Who wants to go first?"

She noticed James fiddling with his bag of gifts anxiously and smiled. "I'll open first," she offered.

"Great!" James thrust the bag of gifts at her and beamed. "They're in no particular order, Lily-bean. Just start opening."

Lily dumped the presents onto the snow and selected a package. There were three, which made her feel bad about only getting James one--but then, his present had been more expensive than any of the other presents she'd bought this year, so perhaps she shouldn't feel too bad about it.

She opened the first package from James, a small, thin one, and discovered a card promising her a year's subscription to Quidditch Weekly.

Lily's mouth fell open slightly. "Are you serious?" she asked, looking up at him.

James grinned. "Well, since you keep stealing my copies and I can never find them, I figured this would be a solid investment."

Lily squealed in delight and threw her arms around James's neck, sprinkling kisses on his cheeks. James laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "That's only the first present," he pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's really great," Lily said, and kissed him once more for good measure. She released her hold on James and picked up the next package. "I don't know if I'll be able to handle this," she joked. The package was rather squishy, she noted, and she tore off the bright red wrapping paper to discover a very nice pair of gloves. They were black leather, extremely soft, and very...elegant, she thought. Lily had never seen a pair of gloves she thought were beautiful before, but these were gorgeous, even in their simplicity. She'd been about to make a joke about James giving her a practical present for once, but she couldn't quite manage it. These gloves were just too...too...pretty.

"James, these are beautiful."

"You don't...think they're a boring gift?" he asked anxiously.

Lily slipped one on. It even felt gorgeous. "James, these aren't just gloves. They're...gloves. They're amazing. Where did you get them?"

"From the secret room at Harrod's."

Lily looked at him in confusion. Harrod's was a large, famous department store, but she'd never heard of there being a secret room, and she certainly couldn't figure out when James had found time to sneak off to London to visit the secret room at Harrod's. But maybe...oh. Maybe that's what James had been doing while Lily was speaking privately with Schmundertoe.

"There's a room at Harrod's for wizards only," James explained. "They sell things that have been crafted or enchanted by magic. Your gloves, I think, fall under both categories."

Lily put on the other glove and examined her hands. "I am officially in love," she announced. "These are the sexiest little black gloves ever."

James grinned. "Does that mean I deserve another kiss?" he asked, leaning toward her.

"Certainly not," Lily said, dodging him. "I'm saving my kisses for these gloves."

James put on his best sulky face until Lily laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're such a baby, James."

"Or maybe," James said, giving Lily a quick kiss on the lips, "I'm just very cunning and persuasive."

"Mm," Lily agreed, and leaned in for another kiss. She should have been used to the feel of James's lips on hers by now, but her heart still fluttered when he kissed her, and the warmth and nearness of his body made her face flush.

James pulled away, looking rather pleased. "You still have one more," he reminded her.

Lily removed her gloves and set them aside. They were beautiful, but, seeing as she was indoors, they also made her hands too warm, and there was no sense in ruining her brand new gloves by sweating all over them.

She picked up the third package, thinking that whatever was inside would be a real let-down after her sexy, sexy gloves, and ripped off the wrapping paper. There were two smaller packages inside, each wrapped in black velvet, and Lily picked one up and pulled off the velvet.

It was a small mirror. Its smooth, dark frame was carved into the shape of ivy leaves. Lily looked up at James curiously. Was this a hint that she needed to improve her cosmetic routine?

"It's a looking glass," James explained. "Open the other one."

Lily complied, and found another small mirror, identical to the first one. She looked back up at James.

"One of those is actually for me," he said, holding out his hand. Lily gave him one of the mirrors, and then stared at him blankly. "Look into your mirror and say my name."

Feeling slightly ridiculous, Lily looked into the mirror. She stared at her reflection as she said James's name, and was surprised when her reflection wavered and disappeared to be replaced by James's face.

"Hullo, Lily," James said, and Lily heard his voice twice--first, from James, who was sitting right next to her, and then again, an echo, from the James in the mirror.

"Brilliant," Lily said, looking up at the real life James. "And these will work...anywhere?"

James nodded. "Pretty much. I thought since...well, you know, you're going to America and all, and if you wanted to talk to me this would be faster than an owl...."

"These would have been really nice during Auror Training," Lily remarked, setting her looking glass down.

"Yeah," James agreed. "They--" He cut off suddenly, struck by a thought. "Damn. I feel stupid now."

"What?"

James looked down at the looking glass and laughed. "Why didn't I think of that before?"

"What?"

"Well, it's just that--Sirius and I have a set of looking glasses like this too. I don't know why we didn't think of taking them to Auror Training with us."

"Since when do you and Sirius have something this cool?"

"We've had them forever. We used to use them to talk to each other when we were in separate detentions."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm glad to know you take your punishments so seriously."

"We took them seriously...enough."

Lily laughed and shook her head. "If you say so, James."

She looked down at the looking glasses again. "I'm glad you got me these. I was going to miss you very much over Christmas."

"I'll still miss you over Christmas, Lily-bean. Looking glasses are not the same."

He kissed her again, and they carried on for a bit before Lily decided it was time for James to open his present.

"Well, after all that, I'm afraid this might be a bit of a disappointment," Lily warned him, handing over James's gift. "But I hope you like it anyway."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lily-bean. I'm sure I'll love it." He leaned over and gave her another kiss. Lily wondered if he was doing this to reassure her, or just looking for an excuse to kiss her. She decided she didn't really mind either way.

She watched as he opened the package. It did seem rather boring after the things he'd gotten her--it was just a watch, really--but all the same, she'd gotten it from Schmundertoe, and that made it seem much niftier than if it had been a regular old watch.

James opened the box and examined it. Lily watched nervously, fiddling with her hair. Oh, no. It's lame. I knew it. He hates it. I'll have to get him something else. I feel so STUPID, how could I have thought that--

"Lily, this is a really nice watch," James said finally.

"D'you--d'you like it?" she asked hopefully.

"It must've cost more than all of the things I got you combined."

Oh, no. He avoided answering my question. He really DOES hate it. "It--it wasn't that much," Lily said, but she felt like she was lying.

James looked up at her doubtfully. "Lily, I've seen watches like this before. I've been thinking about buying one for ages, but they're so darned expensive--I mean, look at this!" James began fiddling with the buttons on the side of the watch to see all of its faces. "It has three different watch faces for three different time zones, plus a lunar calendar and a...is that a compass?"

Lily nodded when he looked up at her for confirmation.

"Yeah, and then there's a...a...is that my temperature?"

Lily nodded again. "I think it also checks your heart rate and blood pressure...when it's on your wrist, that is," she added, trying to be helpful. "Plus if you put in the longitudinal coordinates of your home, one of the compass arrows will point in that direction instead of north."

James blinked and stared at the watch. "Lily, this is too much. You can't spend this much on me."

"Don't be ridiculous, James. I wanted to. And besides--" she cut off for a moment, thinking. She couldn't very well tell him that it had practically been a gift from Schmundertoe. With all the fuss he was making, he'd never believe it.

"Besides what?" James pressed.

"It's for you," Lily said finally. "I wanted to give you something nice. You can't refuse it, and don't you dare try to feel bad about 'not spending enough money on me.' I love all of my presents, James. And besides, those gloves can't have been cheap. So don't try to pretend like you didn't spend any money on me."

James was defeated. He grinned at her and put the watch on. "How can I argue with that?"

Lily just grinned and welcomed his lips as he leaned over to kiss her again. It was short this time--shorter than some of the other ones they'd shared today, anyway--and Lily laughed as James gave her one more peck on the lips and then went right back to fiddling with his watch.

She watched him for a few moments, amused, and then fell back onto the snow, feeling disturbingly...happy. She hadn't felt this happy in months. Maybe it was Christmas, she thought. Maybe it was the presents, or the indoor gardens, or James. Maybe it was all of the above. But whatever it was, it was making her happier than she could remember being since...since last summer. She looked at James, watched him fiddling with his watch and observed the way he scratched his head and messed up his hair--as though it wasn't messed up enough on its own. She giggled as he scratched his head again and aggravated a particularly wayward tuft of hair.

"What?" James demanded, finally looking up from his watch.

"You're making your hair look ridiculous," she informed him.

"So what? My hair always looks ridiculous."

"Yeah, but...every time you scratch your head you make it worse. It's just...amusing," she told him, rolling onto her side and propping her head up with her hand. James laid down next to her and rolled onto his side to face her.

"And how does my hair look from this angle?"

Lily considered. "About the same." She reached over and ruffled his hair, mussing it up as best she could. "Ah, now there's a look for you. Very sexy, James. It's a new style. We'll call it...the electric socket look. Perfect for anyone who wants to stick their finger into an electric socket."

James frowned. "You're starting to sound like Remus."

"Remus? Why do I sound like Remus?"

"No reason," James said quickly. "Hey, Lily, what do you say to me creating a new style with your hair?" He reached over to touch Lily's hair, and she batted his hand away.

"Absolutely not."

"What, you don't trust me?"

"No," Lily said flatly. "Not with my hair."

"Oh, come on. It's not like I could mess up your hair anyway."

"Ha ha...I don't think so."

"Are you sure? I could make the electric socket look for girls!"

"Back off, James," Lily said, attempting to fend off his hands as he reached for her hair. "Noooo touchy the hair...y."

"But Lily, think of the fashion statement we could make together! It would be brilliant, I tell you, brilliant!"

Lily wrestled with James's hands, trying to keep them away from her head. After a minute or so of this, Lily, exasperated, rolled over and shoved James onto his back, successfully pinning down his hands.

"Aha! I emerge triumphant," she gloated.

"This is only temporary," James assured her, squirming to remove his wrists from her grip.

"Oh, really?"

"Mmhm," he said, and stopped squirming suddenly. "Besides, how do you know this isn't what I wanted all along?" he asked, grinning mischievously.

It suddenly occurred to Lily that she was lying on top of James. She felt a hot flush begin to creep into her cheeks, and let go of his wrists. James wrapped his arms around her before she had a chance to move away. He was looking at her oddly, intently, and Lily noted with some amount of concern how close their faces were, and how many parts of their bodies were touching, and...how the way he was looking at her was beginning to trouble her. Her heart thumped disturbingly faster. The flush in her face grew hotter, and she looked away uneasily.

"Lily," James said finally. His voice sounded a little deeper than usual. More serious. Lily's heart skipped a beat, and she slid her gaze back to his reluctantly. He was still staring at her with that odd look on his face, and his eyes bore into hers like they were looking for something. What, though? He looked like he was on the verge of telling her something...something really important, like...like...

Dread settled, cool and firm and omniscient inside Lily's stomach, and she got the terrible feeling that she knew exactly what James was going to say.

"Lily," he began, looking very serious. Their faces were so close that their breath mingled when he spoke. "I--"

"Let's make snow angels," Lily blurted, twisting out of his embrace. She rolled over onto the snow and began moving her arms and legs. She wished it were real snow. Then it would be cold. Then maybe it would cool off the blaze burning in her cheeks. Lily barely noticed the way her right foot was banging into James's leg as she attempted to make the angel, and she didn't glance over to see the look of hurt on his face. She didn't want to look at him. Was afraid to look at him. Was afraid that if she looked, he'd get hope again--he'd say what he'd been about to say, and--and--

Oh, bugger, I'm just not ready for this, Lily thought, and halted progress on her snow angel to put her hands over her face.

"How--how's that snow angel coming?"

"It's done," Lily said, her voice muffled. "Isn't it great?"

"Well, it's a little hard to see with you still laying in the middle of it, but...it looks fine to me," James offered lamely.

Lily took her hands off her face and sighed. "I'm sorry, James. I know you were trying to say something. I--" She stopped speaking as James rolled over so that he was on top of her. He held himself up with his arms, but their legs were intertwined, and his face was startlingly close.

"It's all right," he said softly, and then leaned down to kiss her. Lily opened her mouth and let him. He did some things that made heat flush through her face and between her legs, and when he pulled away Lily's breathing was ragged. He laid a few kisses on her cheeks and her neck, and then left a trail of them leading to her ear.

He kissed her earlobe and said, very softly, "I love you, Lily. Whether or not you're ready to hear it." He gave her one more kiss on the neck, just below her ear, and then whispered it again. "I love you."

Lily's breathing came in shallow, quiet, shuddering gasps. Her heart felt like it had leapt into her throat, and she swallowed in an attempt to force it back down. Her head was spinning wildly, and she couldn't quite think straight, which was probably why she didn't react fast enough to James when he picked himself up and walked out of the clearing.

Her hands were shaking now, and for some reason her eyes were growing damp. What was she so upset about? Or...was upset even the right word? Were there words?

Lily rolled over in the snow and buried her face in her hands again.

She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to say.

Except...except...

Oh, damn it, James, she thought in frustration. Why did you have to do this to me NOW?

Melody was much happier with Sirius around. It was easier to deal with her snakelike uncle, to be nice to Lucifer Malfoy, and to lie convincingly to Catalina about having a good time when Sirius was there. This was the first high society gathering she'd been to all year that she actually enjoyed.

She made a point, of course, to converse with people other than Sirius, and tried to keep herself from staring at him or latching herself to him or doing something worse--like kissing him in public. Whatever she did with Sirius, her uncle could not know that they were together. And as for Sirius...Sirius could not know what she was really doing here.

As long as Melody mingled, however, and avoided spending too much time in the company of Sirius, her uncle, or Malfoy, she thought she could pull it off.

She was currently engaging Duke Asbury in conversation. He was trying to explain the importance of the British newt extract market to her, and she was focusing intently on the bubbles in her glass of champagne, which were more entertaining and certainly far more appetizing than newt extract. She hardly noticed when another person sidled up beside them and joined the conversation. Melody glanced up and was surprised to see Sirius standing next to her, nodding at something the Duke was saying.

"Fascinating," he said, when the Duke had finished. He turned to Melody. "Speaking of wildlife, I wonder if you've had a chance to tour the gardens?"

Melody almost snorted with laughter.

"No, I haven't," Melody lied. Any excuse to get away from Duke Asbury was a good one.

"Shall we take a look?" Sirius offered, to both of them.

The Duke mercifully declined, and went off in search of hors d'oeuvres. Melody took Sirius's arm and allowed him to lead her out of the room.

"Thank you," she said as they exited the hall. "I thought I was going to die of boredom."

Sirius grinned. "I've always found newt extract fascinating, myself."

"Sure you have."

"Yeah. It's right up there with flobberworms and History of Magic."

Melody made a fake gagging noise and Sirius laughed. He led her into another room.

"Sirius, where are we going? This isn't the outdoor gardens."

"Of course it isn't. It's the cloak room."

Melody looked around and then stared at Sirius pointedly. "The cloak room? Sirius, we can't just disappear so we can go snog."

"Why not?"

"Because--"

Sirius leaned down and kissed her. "Because why?"

"Because I have to--"

He kissed her again. "No you don't."

Melody tried to glare at him, but that was hard to do when her heart was jumping and she could still taste the wetness of his lips on hers. She attempted to be angry with him. "Damn it, Sirius, how am I going to finish my sentence if you--"

Sirius tilted her chin upward and kissed her once more. She could have pulled away from him easily. He was touching her only on the cheek, with his thumb, and on her lips, with his lips. It would be so simple to take a step backwards and walk away. Sirius would not force her to stay.

But--oh, could he be persuasive. When he wanted to be with her--really wanted to be with her--he kissed her like this...slowly, protectively...completely.

Well...well...shit, Melody thought. How am I going to say no to this?

Sirius took his time finishing. When he finally pulled away, they were standing close, feet and foreheads and noses touching. "Well?" he asked, his voice sounding a bit less confident than before.

Melody pulled away a little and studied him. It was odd being this close to his face--she could see his pores and a few freckles and individual eyelashes. She kissed him again, experimentally, and he put his hands on her waist. It felt wonderful to kiss him, but she hesitated about kissing him again. Sirius pulled her closer.

"Don't go," he said, touching his forehead to hers. Melody avoided looking into his eyes. He moved his cheek against hers affectionately. "You know you want to stay," he whispered.

Melody pulled away again. "Sirius, I do, but I--"

"But what?" he asked, staring at her.

Oh crap. He's going to find out. If he keeps looking at me like that I'm going to tell him everything.

"But--" she glanced around the room, fervently trying to avoid his gaze. There was really only one way out of this, she reasoned. It really wouldn't do for Sirius to become suspicious of her.

"Oh, sod it," she said, and wrapped her arms around his neck. They stumbled back between the coats and tried to hide themselves effectively.

This is purely business, she reasoned, pulling him closer. I have to keep Sirius from finding out what's going on. This does not mean that I can't keep myself away from Sirius if I want to. This is just a...preventative measure.

At least that's what she told herself.

"That was fast," Molly Havernaugh sighed, staring at all the unwrapped presents strewn under the Christmas tree. "Christmas always passes too quickly."

Molly's mother laughed. "Molly, it's still Christmas day."

"Only for a few more hours," Molly pointed out. "And besides, there aren't any more presents."

"You're eighteen now," her father pointed out. "I would think you could do with a few less presents."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, daddy. A girl can never have too many presents."

Lily laughed, and Molly grinned over at her. "Am I right, cousin?" Molly asked.

Lily nodded in agreement. "I could always do with more presents."

"You sure seemed to get enough from that boyfriend of yours," Petunia sniffed.

"Oh, hush, Petunia. You're just jealous of my fantastic gloves."

"Who wouldn't be jealous of your gloves?" Molly interjected, grinning, before her cousins could get into another fight. "Anyway, girls, I say we watch a movie. Now that we've gotten all the important business out of the way"--she indicated the presents--"we have a bit of time on our hands."

"Sounds all right to me," Lily agreed.

"Groovy. All right, what should we watch? Ooh, have you girls seen Love Story? I don't know how many American films get to England, but if you haven't seen it, it's fabulous."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't expect Lily to know," Petunia said. "She never gets out to the movies."

Lily shot her sister an annoyed sort of glare. "I've been busy," she told Molly. "What's Love Story about? I mean--besides a love story."

"Oh, you don't want to watch that, it's too depressing," Mrs. Havernaugh said. "Why don't you pick out something we can all watch?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "And what would that be, Mom, a Disney movie? I think I'm a little old for Pinocchio."

"How about a Christmas movie?" her mother suggested, sounding slightly exasperated.

"I think we'd all enjoy It's A Wonderful Life," Molly's father suggested. "Have you girls ever seen it?"

Lily and Petunia shook their heads.

"Never heard of it," Lily said.

Molly gasped. "Never?"

Lily shook her head again. "Um...should I have?"

"Well--I guess I don't really know. Maybe it is sort of American. But it's a great movie, we have to watch it."

Lily and Petunia didn't have much of a choice after that.

"What are they doing?" Siegfried whispered.

"They're...staring at a box," Bellatrix replied, puzzled.

"A box? What kind of box?"

"A big...square one. With...light coming out of it."

"Well...well, that's odd, even for Muggles," Siegfried said, sounding a bit baffled. "And...you're sure the girl is with them?"

"Of course I'm sure," Bellatrix snapped. "Would we be waiting around here if I wasn't?"

Siegfried sighed. "Are you sure we just can't off them all?"

"We have been over this a hundred times, Siegfried. All we want is the girl. The rest of them will have to live. Regrettably," she added.

"So we're just going to hover here until they're done staring at the box?" Siegfried asked, fidgeting on his broomstick. Bellatrix was looking in the window and Siegfried was keeping watch on the sky behind them for owls or Muggle aircraft or any potentially dangerous airborne objects.

"Siegfried, you know better than I how to carry out a successful kidnapping. How else are we going to catch her when she's alone?"

"Couldn't we just wait until she goes to sleep?"

"I thought she would be asleep," Bellatrix snapped.

"Well, honestly Bellatrix, when was the last time you went to bed at ten o'clock?"

"To bed or to sleep?" she asked, smirking at him over her shoulder. She returned her gaze to the living room, where all the Muggles had gathered to stare at the box, and jerked when she realized the girl was gone. "Siegfried--she's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean she's--wait, no, there she is. She's going up the stairs!"

"Well then let's follow her," Siegfried urged, and they flew around the high-rise apartment building until they had a good view of the staircase. "Where's she going?"

"Looks like...the loo. She's going to the loo!" Bellatrix whooped, somewhat unprofessionally, and flew over to the window. She whipped out her wand and muttered a nifty little charm that allowed her to seep through the glass and into the flat. Siegfried followed, and together they crept up the stairs toward the bathroom. They positioned themselves on either side of the door and waited silently for the girl to emerge.

Siegfried and Bellatrix exchanged a few words silently, and as soon as the door opened they were prepared. Siegfried shot a silent spell that rendered the girl unconscious, and Bellatrix stepped aside as the girl collapsed. Her head knocked against the wall, and Bellatrix sneered at her. "Mudbloods," she spat. "Can't even faint properly." She kicked the girl once in the stomach, just for good measure, and she and Siegfried proceeded with the kidnapping.

"You wanted to see me?" Melody asked, entering her uncle's suite.

"Melody. You're just in time for tea. Have a seat," he offered, and she complied. He had a very nice tea laid out, but Melody didn't have much of an appetite. Hans poured the tea and regarded her sourly over the rim of his cup.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like to talk to me about, uncle?"

Her uncle's eyes slanted in annoyance, and he slammed his teacup down. "What do you think you're playing at, girl?"

Melody blinked. "Uncle, I just came here for tea because you--"

"I don't mean that. I meant last night."

Melody's insides chilled. Does he know? How could he know? "There was an excellent party last night, uncle, and I--"

"I saw you and that boy together," he growled. "Kissing out in the cloak room!"

Melody's cheeks flushed and betrayed her. "It was just one night, uncle--it doesn't mean anything--we met at the party and--"

"Don't lie to me! You go to school with him. You must have met him before."

"Well--maybe, yes, but we weren't really close, I--"

"He is in the same House as you! Do you think I'm an idiot, Melody?"

Melody shrank back in her chair. Tears stung her eyes. Damn it. Damn him. Damn everything. "No," she said, and her voice was as full and wet as her eyes. She wasn't looking at Hans, so she didn't notice the expression on Hans's face change from anger and frustration to disappointment and defeat.

"I should have guessed," he said. His voice wasn't gentle, but at least it was flat, and blessedly emotionless. Even with all the weight he'd lost, Hans was still an intimidating, portly man. "He's rich. I understand. I admire your...tenacity. But didn't it occur to you that although he is the heir to a large fortune, he won't get that inheritance until his parents die? And they're both quite healthy, I assure you."

"That's not why," Melody said fiercely. Hans lifted his eyebrows at her.

"Oh, isn't it?"

Melody felt a twist in her gut. Hans was right. How sickening. "That's not...entirely why," she amended, her gaze dropping. "I do care for him."

"That is irrelevant," Hans snapped. "I thought we had an understanding, Melody."

"We never had an understanding," Melody spat. "All we ever had was blackmail."

"Be that as it may, Melody...this is out of my hands."

Melody stared at him, and for once she thought she saw something resembling remorse come over her uncle's face. "What do you mean, uncle?" she asked, her voice quavering. She had a very, very bad feeling about this.

Hans slowly looked up to meet her gaze. She did see remorse there--remorse and frustration and...desperation. "It's not up to me anymore, Melody. Lucifer Malfoy wants to marry you."

Melody's stomach lurched in protest. A great roaring sound filled her head, and for a few minutes she could not speak at all.

"No," she said finally. "I can't."

"Damn, it Melody...you don't exactly have a choice."

"Of course I do. I can just tell him no. I'll find someone else."

"You don't understand. You don't have a choice."

"You can't force me to say 'I do'!"

"Don't you understand, Melody? It doesn't matter what I think anymore. I am not in control of this situation, and even if I didn't want you to marry him I couldn't do anything to prevent it!"

Melody sat still in her seat for a moment, stunned. "Uncle," she said, slowly, shakily. "Please explain what you mean."

Hans refused to look at her. He didn't say anything at first, and looked as though he hoped that if he didn't say anything he'd just disappear, and he wouldn't have to answer Melody's question. He didn't have to, of course, and he'd been silent so long that Melody was beginning to think he wouldn't answer her. But then he opened his mouth and spoke.

"I've...sold...I've sold everything. To him. Malfoy now controls all of my assets. I have...nothing, Melody. I can hardly afford the robes I'm wearing, let alone the rooms I--and you--have been staying in. He's taken care of it all."

"Malfoy...Malfoy paid for..." Melody began, but she trailed off, baffled.

She'd known, of course, that Hans could not possibly afford the hotel they'd been staying at, and she knew that "a friend" of his had been paying the charges, but...well...Melody supposed that deep down she'd always thought it was Catalina who was helping them out, even though she knew Catalina had left Hans. Melody couldn't quite wrap her mind around this new information.

"I never meant for things to turn out this way," Hans said. "Melody, when I first contacted you, I...I was trying to repay a debt to my brother. He helped me out when things were tough--when I didn't deserve to be helped out, even. I always thought he was a fool for marrying your mother, and the way he wasted his life--never mind. But he never deserted me, even when our parents did. I thought maybe if I gave something to you, it would...even things out a little.

"But look. Look now, see what I've done to you. I wish I could apologize, but...I've been going down the wrong path so long I don't think I have it in me."

Melody just sat there and stared at him, shocked into silence.

Lily heard a roaring in her ears. Something was pounding inside her head, throbbing in time with the rhythm of her heart. It was funny, she thought, how much more aware of her heart she was when the rest of the world had gone black. She couldn't quite feel the rest of her body, but her heart, at least, was still beating. And her head had to be intact, or she wouldn't be thinking.

Her body came back before her vision did. Pins and needles pricked at her legs. Her gut began to throb in time with her head, and pain shot up her right arm. Her chest heaved as she tried to suck in breath, but she felt constricted--she couldn't--there was something heavy on her chest, something suffocating--and around her neck-- "Ghh!" she said, as something squeezed around it. A strange fuzzyness swept through her head, and she felt dizzy, even as she woke.

Then, suddenly, the world came rushing back. Lily choked on the gasp of air she was trying to take in, and tears pricked at her eyes from the pain throbbing through her system. The world would have been blurry even without the tears, but through them the world went kaleidoscopic, and Lily could barely make out the form of a woman sitting on her chest, her arms reaching toward Lily's face, and her hands--her hands were around Lily's throat, choking her.

But no--no--it wasn't hands, it was a chain.

Jesus Christ, Lily thought, squeezing her eyes shut, and tears leaked out of them, falling down either side of her face into her ears. It's the necklace. She's trying to take the necklace.

It's going to kill me.

She tried to take in breath again, desperately. She moved her arms to try to shove the woman off her, and convulsed in pain. Her right arm, she realized, was twisted beneath her, broken, and slowly being crushed. She couldn't sob--could barely breathe--couldn't use her arms--so instead she cried, and writhed her head around, which only made the throbbing worse.

"God damn it, Siegfried, get over here and make her stop convulsing."

"You do it," came a male voice from a few feet away. Lily couldn't see him; she had squeezed her eyes shut to try to deal with the pain.

"My wand's over there, I can't."

"I'm not getting near her. The damn thing cut me last time," he whined.

"GET OVER HERE AND HELP, YOU MISERABLE BASTARD!"

She jerked at Lily's neck, and Lily's head followed, then slammed against the floor as the woman let go. A high-pitched shriek escaped Lily's throat, and the woman practically throttled her in anger. Tears poured from Lily's eyes. Her body began shaking in fear and pain, and she slipped quickly in and out of consciousness.

Make it end, she prayed. Dear God, please take the pain away. I'll do anything. Just make it stop. Take me. Anything...anything....

She must have been whimpering, because the woman screeched, "SHUT THE HELL UP! Siegfried, you better start making yourself bloody useful, because if you don't, I swear on the Unholy Pact I will kill you."

"I thought that's what we were trying to avoid, darling," Siegfried sneered.

"GET YOUR BLOODY USELESS CARCASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW AND HELP ME!"

Without warning, a jolt went through Lily's system, and the woman sitting on top of her screamed and began jerking uncontrollably.

"YOU SEE? YOU SEE WHAT THE BLOODY THING DOES?" Siegfried bellowed. The woman yanked her hand away and slid off Lily, still shaking.

Lily took in a great, shuddering breath of air and immediately choked on it. Her bruised ribs and constricted throat protested. It took her nearly a minute to get a pattern of normal breathing straightened out, and then she began sobbing. Everything throbbed. Pain ripped through her until she couldn't think anymore, couldn't interpret the images her eyes were taking in. If she saw the shuddering woman lying on the floor next to her, with her long black hair sticking up on end, she didn't know it. Her memory of this would never be anything more than a blur of pain.

Lily couldn't do anything but lie there. Her body couldn't cope with anything else.

Unluckily, her kidnappers recovered much faster. The woman growled out a plan of attack to her companion, and shoved him in Lily's direction. He stumbled, and managed to step on Lily's hand and shoulder before regaining his balance. Lily barely noticed through her pain. Her body was going numb now, she thought. Systematically shutting down. Or at least she hoped so. She couldn't think of anything else that would dull the pain.

"All right, now remember, Siegfried," the woman growled. "Take hold of that thing and don't you dare let it slip through your fingers."

"I understand, Bellatrix. Just cast the damn spell."

If Lily had been fully conscious, she would have wondered what spell was coming. She would have tried to prepare herself for the unknown. If she'd been really on top of things, she probably would have tried to escape. But she wasn't conscious, and she couldn't escape. All she could do was lie there and wait for her fate to come.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Bellatrix shrieked.

Lily's body gave one last great jerk, and then she died.

Lin woke up screaming.

The sound pierced the ears of all the girls in the Fourth Year dormitory, and reverberated shrilly off the walls.

She couldn't stop herself. Couldn't get the images out of her head. Couldn't stop the nightmare. She could barely hear the voices of the other girls in the dormitory as they woke up.

"Oy! What is that bloody racket?" Lucy shouted across the room. She was barely audible against Lin's screaming.

"I dunno, but whoever it is needs to shut the hell up!" Gillian yelled back. Lin heard her, but she couldn't stop herself. Tears poured down her face.

She couldn't get the images of Lily dying out of her head.

"STOP IT!" someone yelled. "FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN!"

The door to the dormitory opened. Angry footsteps stomped across the floor, and someone threw back the curtain on Lin's bed.

Bridget.

She raised her hand and lashed it angrily at Lin's face, slapping her with a SMACK that resounded almost louder than Lin's screams. The force of Bridget's slap sent Lin careening back into her pillow, and suddenly, mercifully, the screaming stopped.

"Shut your bloody mouth," Bridget spat. "What in God's name are you carrying on for?"

She grabbed Lin's arm and jerked her out of bed. Lin half fell to the floor, nearly cracking her head open on her nightstand, and was in such a state of shock that she allowed Bridget to drag her out of the dormitory without protest.

Bridget led her down the stairs and into the Gryffindor Common Room, and then shoved her in the general direction of a sofa. She crossed her arms and glared down at Lin.

Lin had recovered enough by this time to register what had happened. She brought a shaking hand to her cheek and looked at Bridget as if she didn't know her.

"You hit me," she said, her voice quavering.

"It shut you up, didn't it?" Bridget snapped.

"Why the hell did you hit me?" Lin demanded. Her brain was taking a while to catch up with the situation.

"Why the hell were you making all that bloody racket?" Bridget demanded, eyes blazing. At least they weren't gray, Lin noted. Her brain was finally making sense of things.

"Sorry," Lin said softly, and Bridget's rage lessened. "It was just--oh dear God, Bridget, it's Lily. We have to go to her. We have to find her. She could be dead!"

"What? Who? Who's dying? Lin, what on earth are you talking about?"

"Quick--we have to get some Floo powder. We have to get to America. I don't care how."

"Lin, you're not making any--"

"Just shut up and help me! NOW!"

"What do you mean, it disappeared?" Bellatrix demanded. Her heart palpitated, and she swayed on her feet, still trying to glare threateningly at Siegfried. Her heart had been doing funny things ever since that teenage bitch's necklace had electrocuted her.

"It was in my hand one minute, and then as soon as you killed her, it was gone. What the hell other kind of explanation do you need?"

"You must not have been holding onto it tightly enough," she growled. "This is all your fault, Siegfried."

"I had my entire fucking hand wrapped around it. Don't talk to me about whose fault it is."

"Well, what in the bloody hell are we supposed to do now?" she shrieked.

"I don't give a shit what you do, Bellatrix. I'm going off alone."

"Alone? To do what?"

Siegfried turned to stare at her. "I'm getting pissed, Bella. I'm gonna get really--really--really--fuckin'--pissed."

James woke up sweating.

"Lily," he gasped, shoving the covers away as quickly as he could. "Lily."

He stumbled over to his dresser and grabbed the first shirt he saw, pulling it hastily over his head as he ran out of his bedroom. He didn't bother putting on pants. Boxer shorts would be enough, and never mind that it was December.

He half-ran, half-fell down the stairs, jumping eight and nine and ten of them at a time, and dashed into the living room. He grabbed the jar of Floo powder off the mantelpiece, tossed the lid aside, and--

--was promptly knocked over by two girls who tumbled out of his fireplace.

Floo powder flew out of the jar and went airborne, surrounding the three of them in a white haze.

They detangled themselves and stood, coughing and waving the powder away. James checked to make sure there was still enough in the jar for a trip. There was. Thank God, he thought.

"You have the wrong house. Move out of my way," James said, but one of the girls, the blonde-haired one, shoved him back with surprising strength.

"No," she said. "We have to talk to you."

"Look, you're obviously lost and I don't have time to talk to stran--" He paused and frowned at Bridget. "Wait. You're that DeBeauvois kid, aren't you?"

"It's Bridget, thank you very much, and this is Lin, and we have to talk to you because--"

"Lily's going to die and we have to save her," Lin blurted out.

James stared at Lin. "How in the world did you--how do you know about--oh, bloody hell, never mind--if we stand here talking about it she is going to die. If you're coming with me, you'd better hurry!" he yelled, and tossed the entire damn jar into the fire. It exploded with the Floo powder, and the flames in the grate turned green. "LEAKY CAULDRON!" James bellowed, jumping in.

The two young girls followed him without hesitation.

Lily's body lay silent and abandoned in the dirty corner of a back alley. Her corpse had been tossed behind a dumpster. The lower half of her body was obscured by smoke issuing from a vent in the ground. She was already dusted with a thin layer of snow, which hadn't begun falling until after her murderers had gone.

Her eyes stared, glassy and cold, at the brick wall in front of her. Her right arm, broken and half mangled, was thrown in an unnatural arc across her back. Blood was still drying and beginning to cake on the right shoulder of her festive green Christmas sweater.

She was obviously newly dead. She lacked any spark of life, but the stench of death had not yet come to claim her. A rat scurrying through the alley approached her, sniffed at her wound, and hesitated. There was fresh blood there, but the body was growing cool. The rat scurried over to her neck and sniffed around. Its whiskers tickled the skin there, but there was no response from the skin or the girl, and the rat decided it was safe to scurry up and over the girl and continue on its way.

Lily, like every other victim, had not survived the killing curse.

But suddenly something gold shimmered around her neck.