Manors and Manners (Part Two)

Lily watched their guests with a small smile as they explored the small library. Hermione seemed to be a girl after her own heart, eagerly flitting from shelf to shelf and taking notes on what she wanted to read and in which order. The brunette witch had barely paid any attention at all to the other occupants beyond the initial pleasantries though she did still surreptitiously glance at Harry whenever he fell too silent only returning to her books when he started talking to the group again or made a small gesture that seemed to satisfy Hermione.

Fleur was far more engaging now that she wasn't consumed with worrying about her…partner. Lily suppressed a small grimace at that. The fact that her son was not only dating, but dating all three girls at once was more than enough to spur a return of the headache she'd woken up with. The French Veela certainly didn't make it easy to forget that fact. She used almost any excuse to kiss or touch Harry and he tended to respond in kind. Fleur seemed easy to like and she definitely had a healthy amount of respect for the young woman's skills to have gotten through her own set of challenges last year even if the details were still mostly clouded in shadow.

Daphne on the other hand was an enigma. To most appearances, Daphne Greengrass was a typical Pureblood Princess with a haughty air and a superior attitude. When she engaged with most she was brusque, but polite and knowing while still being respectful. However near Harry her demeanor shifted quite largely. She was still thoughtful and careful, but it was tempered with an obvious humor and exasperation. The effect was enough of a difference that Lily was reminded strongly of Andromeda Tonks. One of the reasons she had so adored Andi was because the woman was a perfect blend of the skills and experience in purebloods coupled with the joy and openness in most Muggleborns. Daphne seemed to be quite similar in that regard and it bode well for the girl's prospects in whatever she aimed to achieve both personal and professional.

Tonks as a direct contrast was busy arguing with Dobby over what color the walls should be painted. The little house elf was insisting that a gold and red scheme be used in the majority of the manor while Tonks was trying to make a case for some Hufflepuff colors. Her efforts to prove her point by standing against various walls and shifting her hair to match her stated preferences was hilarious to watch. Completely unbecoming of proper behavior, but that was a large part of what made it so much fun. Lily had almost fallen to the floor in shock as she caught a quick glimpse of the goblin laughing at Tonks' antics!

That Harry had managed to get such good friends in spite of his…history…warmed Lily's heart. It proved that Harry was still her sweet little boy even if that wasn't quite as literal as it used to be.

A deep knock sounded throughout the hall followed by a pathetic little scream of terror. Several heads turned to the door to the library while Lily just rolled her eyes. "We're in the library, Sirius!" she yelled. "Stop playing with Skelly and come in!"

"Hey, that thing's scary!" Sirius pouted walking in with Remus following close behind. While Sirius had obviously played it up, Moony was looking rather pale. Lily couldn't help the twinge of satisfaction at making the man squirm a bit. Sure, he hadn't betrayed them – Shiva had cleared that up – but he still hadn't even bothered to try and contact Harry before the situation was forced onto him. While she respected that he'd made changes to his life she wasn't going to give him a free pass until she made certain that he had earned that pass.

"Was the hissing too much?" Harry asked innocently. Lily chuckled. Maybe some of the others could tell if he was genuinely asking or teasing but she certainly couldn't. "I was originally going to just have it hanging up there, but when the goblins mentioned they could have it animated a bit I might have went a bit overboard with the effects."

Tonks' hair and most of her body turned green with her tongue flicking out and lengthening into a split snake's tongue. "I sssink thisss big brothersssss of mine issssss perfectssss."

Every single occupant of the house turned to stare at Tonks who just stared back at them all. It took a full ten seconds before everyone was clutching their sides and wiping their eyes from their laughter. Tonks grinned, bowed and morphed back to her normal form. "Aww shucks folks. Thanks."

When people had finally calmed down Sirius moved to warmly embrace Lily. "It's good to see you up and about, Lils. I missed you."

"Well, I wish I could say I missed you too but…" she said shrugging and giving him a small smile in return.

"Yeah, I know. I talked with you friend earlier. I know the basics. Look on the bright side though, Lils, at least you're still crazy young!"

She snorted and shook her head genially while Remus stepped forward with a sigh. "Sirius, while that may be true, there's probably a far better way to put it. Hello, Lily. I'm pleased to see you again as well. Also, I hope you'll accept my apologies for not doing more for Harry while it would have counted. I was rather taken to task with my poor behavior – well deservedly so – and while I can't change the past I can try to atone for it in the future."

Lily's eyes narrowed as she searched his features. He seemed genuine and that he'd freely offered the sentiment before she'd even had the chance to tear into him was something…Slowly she nodded and pulled him into a very brief hug. "Ensure you keep doing right by my family in the future Remus and we're okay. Step out of line again though and I will not be as nice."

Shiva groaned. "Ugh, Remus, don't piss her off. I had a hard enough time keeping her from tearing off after Lockhart and Dumbledore. You might be a werewolf, but you're still a heck of alot easier to find than those two."

"Actually, Flophart is easy to find. He's still in St. Mungos," Daphne said nonchalantly. "I hear they've gotten him to the point of being able to ask for food and loo trips again. If Lily wants to go torture him a bit I'm all for that. I can even show you his room."

Hermione paused in her inspection of one of the shelves and peered at Daphne curiously. "Oh really? Daphne, have you paid visits to the man?"

"Well he may have developed some intense itching in rather uncomfortable places while I was checking on some other patients. A few times. That he can't actually explain what the problem is…was sadly unfortunate," the Slytherin said with a wicked grin. Hermione just shook her head in exasperation though she didn't appear to have any actual issues with her friend's actions.

Lily chuckled and eyed the girl appreciatively. Daphne certainly had a vindictive side to her. "Well, that certainly helps diminish my need for justice. Though I may have to pay some visits and try out some of my more experimental potions on him." She grinned widely.

Snapfist stood and looked at her flashing a toothy smile. "I see why you have a good reputation with the Nation, Mrs. Potter. If we aren't waiting on more perhaps we should start the tour?"

"Sure. Lead on, Account Manager."

The group passed through the entrance hall again as they moved to the East Wing when the basilisk skeleton started hissing at the door and chime sounded. Harry gave an annoyed sigh. "That's the signal that someone is approaching who doesn't have hostile intent against any of the people keyed into the wards. Give me a second to see who it is."

Daphne gave an annoyed huff and moved to follow him. "It's quite possible it's my father. He was rather…forward this morning and it would certainly be in character for him to drop by, introduce himself and see how things were going. I'll get rid of him if it is."

Harry pulled the door open and blinked in surprise at two Aurors just stepping up to the door. "Err, hello?" He recognized Dawlish, but while the other one seemed vaguely familiar he couldn't place a name to the face.

"Mr. Potter," Dawlish said with his face set firmly into an expression caught between disgust and fear, "we're here for the abomination. Please stand aside."

"Abomination?" Harry asked looking to Daphne who just shrugged mirroring his confusion. "Uh, I know the skeleton might be a bit much, but I wouldn't call it an abomination. That seems rather harsh."

The second Auror stepped frowned. "Skeleton? So you've already killed it!?"

"Yeeeaaaah," Harry said slowly as if speaking to children. "This was really big news over two years ago…Daphne and I killed the basilisk and it's hanging here…what skeleton did you think I meant?"

"Harry? Either invite them in or lock them out. I want to see the rest of this place," Lily called.

Both Aurors froze. "It's alive!" Dawlish yelled. "Savage, protect the kids I'll get the creature!" Dawlish and Savage whipped out their wands and had time to take a single step forward before staring dumbly ahead.

Harry and Daphne were back to back in front of the two Aurors blocking the door. Both teens had their wands out pointed at one Auror each. Harry had his left hand pulled back with his palm extended, the Knockback tattoo glowing slightly which matched the Boomstone tattoo glowing on his hand clutching his wand. Daphne in turn had pulled a Freezer rune stone from somewhere and was clutching it in her off hand. Harry was carefully positioned so that the skin on his right hand was brushing against Daphne's left in case he had to use the Boomstone. To helpfully increase their image of unstoppable badasses Skelly leaned her head down behind them and unhinged her toothy jaw letting out a very loud hiss.

"Put your wands down and step back from the door," Harry said remarkably calmly considering how badly he wanted to curse these two idiots.

"There is no necromantic abomination present in this household, Aurors," Daphne said all joking gone and steel edging her voice. "I kindly recommend you take your leave immediately before a misunderstanding occurs. You are in the process of invading a Lord's manor with faulty justification. You are not here under orders. Director Amelia Bones would have nipped that right in the bud. Head Auror Scrimgeour has also already been informed of Lily Potter's return to health so he has not authorized this either."

The corner of Harry's lip twitched as he saw Dawlish visibly gulp. Savage just sneered. "Out of the way children. You've obviously been confounded by someone."

Harry growled and Daphne's eyes narrowed to slits. Before either could act the rest of the group stepped up behind them with Lily in the front. "I'm a necromantic abomination now? Well, I suppose I shouldn't really be too surprised about that. Am I supposed to be decaying and putrid too? Do I eat brains?"

Dawlish gaped at the sarcastic comments, his wand lowering slightly. Savage however shifted his aim to point over Harry's shoulder. His lips moved to start casting a spell when he was thrown off his feet. Harry's disarming charm hit the man at the same time that his Knockback blast slammed into his chest. Daphne's body bind jinx hit him barely half a second afterwards. Both teens turned their wands on Dawlish not even bothering to notice who had raised a shield behind them. "Your move, Auror Dawlish," Harry said quietly.

Dawlish slowly held up one hand and lowered his wand though he didn't sheathe it. "I have to take…it into custody, Lord Potter. Necromancy is the only explanation here. I don't know how it's tricking you or who's controlling it, but I promise you we will find out and hunt them down."

Harry heard the sound of a hand slapping a face behind him though he just groaned. "Have you listened to a single thing we've said? Did you even bothering to read the article in the paper or did you just run off half-cocked after catching a glimpse of the headline?"

The guilty expression on the Auror's face was answer enough. Daphne glared at him. "Allow me to summarize for you in that case. Lily Potter was in a state of deep enchanted sleep while augmenting Harry Potter's protection. As the specific requirements to break this enchantment were previously unfulfilled thanks to an ignored will only recently was the spell broken. Lily Potter never died; she simply slept. Her status was confirmed by two separate licensed Healers, three Heads of Ancient Houses and the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"Now get your partner and get the hell off my property!" Harry finished shouting.

"I'll take it from here, Lord Potter," Amelia Bones said as she walked up the path. "Tonks, thank you for calling. I see we have a bit of trouble here." She paused as she stopped by Savage. A flick of her wand had the man standing in front of her next to Dawlish though still frozen by the body bind. "Dawlish, explain."

Dawlish's face paled even further as he stumbled over his words. "Ma'am, Savage and I saw the article in the Quibbler on Proudfoot's desk this morning. We…well it's only natural to assume necromancy or other Dark Magic when dealing with a reanimation! We didn't want to waste any time since who knows what someone without any morals like that would do with their creation left near Harry Potter…"

Lily held up her hand from beyond Harry and Daphne. "They did sound like they tried to protect the teens. Sort of at least," she said jovially. Harry wanted to be frustrated with her for joking under these circumstances, but if she was anything like him he knew she was probably doing it in a deliberate effort to avoid going for her own wand.

"What am I going to do with you two?" Bones sighed. "Unpaid leave for one week. Paid leave for another week after that. Both of you are then going back through the last three months of the Auror Training Program. Savage, while this is technically your first offense your general attitude has been severely lacking especially concerning safety and procedure. Dawlish…goddammit Dawlish! You are a good Auror when you can pull head out of your arse and we need good Aurors now more than ever! Initiative is fine and commendable even, but we check facts first for a reason!" She waved her wand again and the spell holding Savage dropped. He proceeded to drop his head in shame. "Get out of here both of you."

The two Aurors hurried off the property and Bones turned to the group with a sigh. "I apologize for that. Lily…ugh I'll talk to my department immediately to make sure this doesn't happen again. It was scheduled for before everyone went home for the day originally. I'm sorry for the disruption." She started to turn, but stopped and gave a small amused shake of her head at Harry and Daphne who had finally holstered their wands and moved slightly apart. "I've seen Dawlish go up against a werewolf while transformed and not break a sweat. I don't know what you people did to him, but I sincerely hope you join our ranks when you graduate. Good day, everyone."

As Amelia walked back down the driveway Harry slammed the front door and scowled. "They obviously had hostile intent to…Lily at least. Why the hell didn't the wards trigger?" he asked aloud frowning down at the floor.

Shiva laid a soft hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "She's not entered into them, kid. We were going to do that when we got to the Anchor. Nobody expected an attack in the half hour we've been here."

Harry's scowl deepened further but Hermione moved forward to kiss his cheek before he could say anything. "That was quite impressive, Harry. I believe I told you once before that Daphne was a good second for you and an equal in battle. There's all the proof you need."

Tonks gave them a thumbs up with her hair a mix between emerald green and scarlet red. Harry, suitably distracted just ran a hand through his hair and huffed.

"I am so glad I came to this personally!" Snapfist said clapping his hands together and smiling. "Come, let's go to that Ward Anchor first."

As the group moved to follow Snapfist, Harry noticed Lily eyeing Daphne and giving the girl a very affirming nod of acknowledgement.

Shortly after the Manor tour ended the group had had dinner together with everyone departing except for Hermione, Fleur and Tonks. Lily found it somewhat hard to ignore that all three girls were bunking in her son's bedroom. No matter how many assurances she'd received that this wasn't something new it didn't change that he seemed far too young.

Leaning back against the wall behind her she used her butterbeer to salute a picture of a young black haired girl on the end table nearby. "Quite the hypocrite I'm being huh, Marlene? I was sleeping with you at 15 and now I'm getting angry with my son for doing the same thing. I guess it's different when they're our own children." Lily scowled and drained her drink. Marlene had died only a few weeks before Lily and James had gone into hiding. While their fling hadn't lasted long they'd stayed friends ever since and her death had hurt quite a lot. That Marlene's entire family had been wiped out at the same time just made it even worse.

Lily turned from the picture and walked back towards her room. Harry had offered the master bedroom but she'd turned him down. That room was supposed to be for the lord of the manor and she didn't really qualify for that position anymore. Granted, she'd actually never qualified for the position. James' parents had died in the same attack that destroyed the Manor so she'd never even set foot in the room before this morning. It was easy to let Harry have that area. The larger quarters would at least make things simpler for his sleeping arrangements.

The hallway split and instead of turning towards her bedroom, Lily found herself going to other way. She stopped in front of James' old room. Slowly, with a slight tremble Lily pushed the door open and walked inside. The goblins had indeed been thorough. If nothing else in the house had made that clear this room did. There were still some of the pictures and posters that James had decorated hanging in the same spots. Her old attempt at knitting a blanket was draped across the back of the chair just like she'd left it. The bed's sheets had that same eye-watering combination of brilliant red, blazing gold and fluttering snitches.

Lily sat down on the bed and pulled a small bear from the side table. She'd bought that as soon as she found out she was pregnant. Every kid liked bears and while stuffed dragons were largely the preferred option among magical families she'd wanted her child to grow up with a connection to the Muggle world. Harry had grown up with that connection. He'd grown up with Petunia. With the same woman who'd stated multiple times he should die before even being born. With the aunt who'd stuffed him in a cupboard because he was special and she wasn't. Her son had grown up completely alone because she and James had been too busy arguing to bother telling people how her research was progressing.

Everything she'd ruthlessly pushed down since first opening her eyes and seeing a coffin bubbled up to the surface. Lily clutched the bear to her chest, squeezed her eyes shut and started sobbing. Her breath hitched and her arms trembled. She couldn't fix this. She couldn't fix anything. She'd damned her son to hell while trying to save him. How was she supposed to justify that?

Lily barely even registered when a soft arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her head down to rest on a shoulder. She could only cry harder and squeeze the bear tighter. "Shh, it's okay," a quiet voice said. Lily shook her head and kept crying. "Let it out. Harry does the same thing. You can't keep this shite bottled up because it just gets worse and worse."

At the mention of her son Lily's breath hitched again. She tried to pull back vigorously shaking her head. "I left him alone!" she shouted. "I left him alone for years!"

"You saved him." Lily finally managed to pull enough coherent thought together to recognize that Shiva was the one holding her and trying to calm her down. "Did he end up having a shitty childhood? Yeah. That's not on you, Lily. We read your will and your husband's. Harry doesn't blame you at all for being stuck with the Dursleys. You had no way of knowing that your wishes would be completely ignored."

"It doesn't matter! I should have known! I knew what bigoted arses the wizarding world created. I ranted about them enough to realize that it was likely to happen! I should have told someone about what I was trying to do! If I had told someone than I could've raised him!" Lily gave up trying to move away and collapsed back down into Shiva's embrace. "I was too busy trying to make James understand why I was so determined. Why I was set on that course. Why I couldn't afford to do any other research. Why I wasn't trying to be a Merlin-be-damned martyr! We gave up understanding each other's positions! I ignored everything except finishing it! I didn't explain anything!"

"I'm glad you didn't," Shiva said quietly. The complete incongruity of that statement jolted Lily out of her sobs. She pulled back to stare wide eyed at the other woman. "I don't mean that I'm glad Harry grew up the way he did or that you got trapped in stasis for a decade. I mean, I'm glad you got it working in time. If you hadn't been so focused your son would've died, Lily. You saved him. You gave him a chance. I've patched over his wounds, but I never would have even met him if you hadn't saved him to begin with." Shiva smiled and hugged Lily. This time instead of a comforting embrace, it was a thankful one. "I love that boy like he was my own flesh and blood and I can't thank you enough for letting him live long enough that I could meet him."

Lily started crying again at that and she clung to Shiva tighter. She hadn't looked at it from that angle before, but the professor was right. If she had stopped working, there was a good chance she wouldn't have been ready for when Voldemort showed up on their doorstep. Harry's life had been hard…but Shiva was right. He was alive. And she could start doing everything in her power to make sure that she made up for all the years she had missed with him.

Severus Snape sat down to his breakfast and morning tea without his usual sneer. Dumbledore had been removed long enough that Snape was beginning to see the benefits of having one of his masters gone for good. Bones a hardass bitch who made no secret of disliking him, but she was fair and forthright with her explanations and orders; two things that Dumbledore had never been. To make matters even better, the idiot Lucius had managed to let Narcissa walk away from him! While she was unable to make a deep dent in the man's finances the money she had taken was rather impressive and rumors were running rampant that Black was going to file for a divorce on her behalf on 'breach of contract' grounds reclaiming a sizable dowry. The Dark Lord's displeasure was firmly centered onto Lucius leaving Severus free to do whatever he wanted in the meantime. All in all, it was an excellent start to the summer months.

He opened yesterday's papers to see what amusing anecdote the insane Lovegoods had come up with this time. Reading the article on Voldemort's return was rather anticlimactic as there were no embellishments or conspiracy theories. Moving on he flipped to read below the fold. The headline of the article barely registered on his first pass.

Lily Potter's Miraculous Revival! A Strengthening Ritual Gone Wrong Thanks to Wizengamot Mismanagement

Written by: Luna Lovegood

Many of you may think a joke article. As was stated in the first section, it is not. You read that correctly. Lily Potter has regained consciousness after remaining in an enchanted sleep for nearly fourteen years. She –

Snape spit out the tea he was drinking as he stared at the paper in front of him. Moving so quickly the table bounced backwards, he lunged forwards and gripped the Quibbler like his very life depended on it. Hurriedly he started reading the entire thing.

She was initially forced into the magical slumber during the night of Voldemort's attack on the Potter household in Godric's Hollow. The Dark Lord unknowingly completed the final component of an ancient ritual that allowed Mrs. Potter to strengthen her son's natural defenses. This is what led directly to Voldemort's initial defeat. The final segment after the danger had passed was for the young Harry Potter to come into contact with his slumbering mother passing back the enhancement and allowing her to wake.

In a tragic series of events, this never came to pass. The Chief Warlock of the time, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore sealed the wills that explained this step of the ritual thereby refusing to permit it to be performed. It is unknown whether Dumbledore took this step knowing the true ramifications or not, but the fact remains that he vastly overstepped his bounds in this instance. By ignoring the final stipulations of James and Lily Potter, Albus Dumbledore led to the burying alive of a healthy if unresponsive woman for over a decade.

Upon the recent completion of the Triwizard Tournament and with the return of Tom Riddle, Harry Potter felt it was appropriate to follow the last wishes of his parents. Upon paying his respects, Mr. Potter and all others present were quite surprised to observe the long overdue completion of the original ritual and the revival of Lily Potter. She has since been examined by several certified Healers and pronounced in perfect health. The Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has also signed off on Mrs. Potter's status saying, "There is no evidence of Dark Magic here at all. While Mrs. Potter does not remember the exact ritual she used, it's evident that this was family magic and likely is unable to be spoken of with outsiders to begin with. Mrs. Potter's survival is certainly unexpected, but rare and unusual Light magic should not be mistaken for Dark."

Mrs. Potter is currently recovering from her lost time with her remaining family. Any inquiries into her current health and status are authorized to be directed through either Quibbler staff or Madame Bones.

Snape's hands shook as he finished the article. "It's a trick. It has to be a trick. I held her body. She was dead. I know she was dead!" He stood up so quickly that the kitchen table flipped over on its side. Running to the door, Snape took just enough time to grab his jacket before rushing far enough off his property to apparate. He didn't notice at all when he arrived at the Dursley household missing a bit of hair above his left ear. Moving to the door he knocked twice. He waited for a moment and knocked again. He waited less than a second and proceeded to knock again. And again. And again. His hand was raised for another knock when the door opened and Snape's fist nearly collided with the horse-faced woman instead of the wood.

Rearing back and resisting the supreme urge to curse Petunia Dursley née Evans out, Snape took a shuddering breath. "Is she here? I need to see her."

"I know you…" Petunia said her eyes narrowing. Her lips twisted into a grimace a few moments later. "Snake something. Snape, that was it. Snake Snape. What do you want? The boy hasn't been here since the beginning of summer last year. He'll never be back now and thank goodness for that. We want nothing more to do with your kind!"

Snape's fists clenched and he only barely managed to not draw his wand on the obstinate bitch who was every bit as horrible as he remembered. "I don't care about Harry Potter! I want to see Lily you imbecilic woman!"

Petunia snorted and moved to close the door. "Try the graveyard then. In case you haven't heard, that woman died fourteen years ago. If you people even use graveyards." The door slammed shut.

Snape growled and twisted on the spot apparating away. He landed in the alley near Babbling's flat minus more hair a bit of his right shoe. He knew his colleague's address through the benefit of working at the school not to mention her recent status regarding the Potter spawn. Never as grateful for that as right now Snape charged around the corner and up the steps tripping ever so slightly at his unbalanced right leg. Snape scowled at the delay. He'd been stupid to try Petunia first. Of course Lily would never go back that woman! She'd have gone to her son.

He pulled up outside the door and started knocking continuously. When no one responded after nearly thirty seconds he was about to start banging and casting spells at the door. Before he could start on that though, the flat across the hall opened at an annoyed man poked his head out. "Will you keep that racket down! Some of us are trying to sleep in you know."

"I need to get into this flat. It is extremely urgent," Snape snarled.

"Well unless it's burning down come back when they're home, idiot."

Snape froze. "You know they are gone? Where did they go?"

"How the hell should I know? We're not friends. I just saw the women and her kid heading out yesterday morning with their friend and they never came back. Now stop knocking on the bloody door and go the hell away before I call the police on the disturbance you're making!"

Another door slammed in Snape's face and his lips lifted in a snarl. Where would they have – Potter Manor.

Snape ran down to the alleyway tripping over more stairs on the way and apparated again. This time he lost a bit of the end of his robes as well as more hair from above his left ear. He didn't bother slowing down and ran full tilt to the front door of the manor. A dim hissing sounded beyond the barrier to his progress but he paid it no mind. He started banging incessantly on the door. His jacket was only half put on still and it flapped hard enough to slam into the door with dull thuds after his fists landed. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the door opened and the Potter spawn stared out at him.

"Snape?" Potter asked in confusion. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "This is weird dream."

"You are not dreaming you dunderhead," Snape growled. "Where is she? I need to see her. Is she here?!"

Potter frowned and stood straighter, most of the tiredness in his gaze swapping for annoyance. "Oh, of course you're here for my mother. Finally got around to reading the paper huh, Snape?" Potter scowled and glared at him. "She's sleeping right now. Come back at a decent hour."

"Let me see her now," Snape snarled.

Potter's scowl turned into a wry grin. "Sucks being on the other side of things doesn't it?" The boy's gaze took in Snape's appearance and he groaned. "Luckily I'm not as cruel as you are. Wait in the lobby. I'll go see if she's awake and interested in talking to you right now. If not you have to promise to leave and let her be the first one to contact you. Deal?"

Snape's lips curled, but he gave a curt nod. It would at least get him into the Manor. He knew she'd be willing to speak with him. It was Lily. Lily was always willing to listen.

Potter pulled the door wide and gestured him inside. Snape took a single step beyond the threshold and froze solid as a giant skeletal snake head settled in his path hissing with its jaw hinged wide. Potter's snickering followed shortly after. Snape turned to glare at the boy's back as he left the room while the basilisk skeleton drifted back up to slither nearer to the ceiling.

Snape looked down at his clothes and for the first time noticed his lack of decorum. With a wince he finished pulling his jacket onto his other arm and tied the laces on his left shoe before tucking in his shirt. He was still trying to figure out what he could do with his right shoe when footsteps sounded in the hall. Abandoning his current attempts at damage control, he turned his eyes upwards.

Standing in the middle of one of the hallways was a vision of beauty. Her red hair framed her face just as he remembered it. Her clothes were the same style she always preferred, toeing the line between magical and Muggle. Her arms were crossed in the typical manner she always reserved for when she was annoyed with someone and her face was set in the careful mask that he had never quite been able to read. It was true…Lily Potter was alive!

"Lily…" Snape said stepping forward, his voice thick with emotion.

Lily's eyes narrowed and the edge of her mouth twitched. The voice that issued out of those perfect lips was cold and laced with disgust. "Severus. You have a lot of nerve showing up here like this. Just what do you want?"

Paracela Fulcanelli stood up from her weekly chat with Albus Dumbledore all smiles. "Well," she said, "thanks for finally telling us about that thing with the ring. I don't get why you're obsessed with that at all. You realize what I'm missing by talking to you for so long about this don't you? I missed three different autograph sessions to have this chat!" Albus scowled and tried to respond. The frustrating woman had silenced him as soon as she stood though so nothing came out. "Whatever, you deserve a reward for finishing up your tale I suppose. How about a paper, Al? Don't worry, it's enchanted so that it just looked like one of the Muggle tabloids if anyone non-magical looks at it. Well, Squibs too. You're excepted thanks to a bit of sympathetic magic. Enjoy. I particularly enjoyed the second article on the front page." Paracela gave an evil little grin that set Albus' hairs on end. She left the paper and walked out laughing to herself.

Albus frowned and picked up the copy of the Quibbler to see what could be so ill boding that Perenelle would think it fit to torture him with. He skimmed the article regarding Voldemort. Unsurprising and matching mostly what Harry had previously stated with a few additional details. Getting to the second article caused every muscle in Albus' body to freeze.

Lily Potter was alive.

He reread the article.

He reread the article a third time.

All color drained out of Albus' face. "He's finally done it," Albus whispered dimly noting that he had use of his voice again. "Harry has broken the boundaries that even Voldemort feared to tread. I knew he needed to be stopped before the worst could happen and now…this?! The sheep believe it to be a good thing too?! Harry was masterful in his acquisition of such a powerful spinster so early in his rise…To reanimate his mother into a nefarious Dark Creature…I must get out! I must stop him! The boy will be the end of us all!"

Albus clutched the paper like a lifeline and ran to the door leading into the courtyard. He wasn't as spry as he used to be but he could still force the gate with a long enough lever. The pool skimmer might work. He'd just managed to get the skimmer lodged into the gate hinge when one of the orderlies came over and gently put his hands over Albus'. "What seems to be the problem, Mr. Brian?"

"I must leave! It is urgent! Look!" Albus thrust the Quibbler into the man's hands. "You see? They believe he's justified in what does! They believe her reanimation is good when all it proves is that Harry has fallen to depths not seen since the times of Egypt and Atlantis! I have to get back and save them from him before his evil can spread across the globe!"

The orderly examined the paper carefully nodding slowly. For a brief moment, Albus' eyes shown with righteous promise and hope. "Al, I can understand why you would think that the alien bringing someone back from the dead would be a bad thing, but you have to remember that tabloids doctor these types of photos all the time. It's not real, it's a just a fake. Nobody is going to corrupt the world with alien resurrection machines or Atlantean death beams."

Albus tore the paper out of the man's hand and scowled. "You fool. It's not aliens or death beams! It's MAGIC!"