Chapter 11: What else?!

The anger in Harry's face when he saw her, though - THAT had frightened her. For there had been no love in those eyes, no relief, no joy at a long awaited reunion.

No, he had had only anger. Even when he made clear that he didn't believe that she was really his mother, his reaction had still hurt.

When she saw James get stunned, seconds after arriving, she had lost hope. With that, and Harry's reaction, Lily had become convinced that she was going to die.

And then Frank and Alice's boy stunned her.

"Good," a voice broke the silence. "You're awake."

Lily sat up on the leather couch, and looked around. It was a simple workroom, good for finishing parchment work or for interviewing suspects.

The DMLE, then, she realized. Sitting across the room, sipping her tea, was Amelia Bones.

"Amelia," Lily began. The head of the DMLE raised her hand, stopping her greeting.

"What did I say after I rescued you during our first flying lesson?" she asked.

Lily frowned. "That wasn't you, that was Edgar. He thought that gryffindors all knew how to fly before they were sorted."

That got no reaction from Madam Bones. "To which you replied?"

"I told him that he needed to work on his lines if he expected to make it in Hufflepuff." Lily replied, smiling at the memory.

Now, Amelia nodded, and put her wand back in its holster. Lily realized that the Director had had her at wandpoint the entire time. What if I had answered wrong?

"So," said the Director. "You're alive."

Lily could only nod.

"You and James."

Another nod.

"And a son that no one seems to remember you having."

Lily nodded again.

"You understand, I trust, that this whole situation seems absolutely ridiculous, yes?" Amelia seemed to have relaxed, somewhat, but her whole demeanor told Lily exactly what she thought of this evening's events.

"I can see how it might look, yes." answered Lily. "The Headmaster did warn us that it would take time."

"Time," said Amelia, with a bit of a scoff. "That does bring up an interesting point, though. Why now?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, why tonight? Why here, at the ministry?" Amelia looked intently at her guest, taking another sip of tea. "The Dark Lord's public return will take your headlines, yes, but surely you realize that someone had to have recognized you. Eventually, the word will be out."

"Yes," Lily replied. "Albus said that Harry needed our help. How could we not come and save our son?"

Lily did not know what reaction she expected from Madam Bones - but a snort of laughter was not it.

"Did I say a funny thing, Amelia?" asked Lily, with no small measure of annoyance.

"You did, but the amazing thing is that I don't think you meant to." she replied, still chuckling. Off Lily's look, she straightened up. "Lily, of all the times Harry's life has been in danger, tonight was pretty much the least of them."

"The death eaters were ambushing him!" Lily almost shouted. "Him and five of his school friends against over twenty hardened death eaters! What was I supposed to do? They set a trap for my son!"

Amelia's face hardened. "They tried to, yes." She stood, setting her tea on the desk nearby. "But they walked into a trap instead, and a dozen of them are dead."

She had seen the end of Bellatrix, but hearing the numbers from Amelia was horrifying to Lily. "And whose idea was that trap?"

Walking to the doorway, Amelia paused. "Harry's." She allowed herself a smile as she watched Lily's reaction. "Not the reunion you expected, exactly." It was not a question.

Weakly, Lily shook her head. My son is more of a killer than I knew.

"Well, be that as it may," said Amelia. "You and your husband are both who you say you are, as confirmed by witnesses and magic. Try as they might, the investigators found no crimes for which you could be charged, though I imagine Albus will need to answer some hard questions about the whole 'faking your deaths' thing." She noticed Lily's wince at that, and filed it away for later. "I'll need you to come in later this week for a formal interview."

Lily nodded. "Of course."

"Good," was the reply. Opening the door, Amelia paused again. Over her shoulder, she looked back at Lily Potter. "Harry is a good man, Lily. He is full of surprises. I really hope this was all worth it." And with that, she was gone.

She was too far down the corridor to hear Lily's quiet "Me too."

--------

Kingsley Shacklebolt had not been a close friend of former auror James Potter, having joined the Auror force only days before the day the Dark Lord fell.

The day this man died, thought Kingsley, with a shake of his head.

Out loud, Kingsley had asked the only question that had really mattered. "Why?"

James chuckled sadly, sipping his coffee. The headache was still there, but getting better. "Why, what?"

The auror sat back in his chair. "Why, everything, really. Why fake your deaths? Why leave Harry behind? Why come back now?"

James sighed. "Even the Goblins, for the right coin, would track us down - unless we were dead. Sirius had already retrieved Harry before we woke up, and the world knew he lived - if he disappeared after that, it would have shattered the peace."

Kingsley said nothing, knowing he would review the concealed transcribing quill's account later. ""I see. And tonight?"

"Harry was in danger," was the reply. Then a sad chuckle escaped him. "Seems like he handled himself well, though. Far better than we could have imagined." Was that pride in his voice? Kingsley wondered. Why? You never taught him any of those skills.

"He did quite well. Surely, better than we would have done at his age."

That got a nod from James. "Perhaps," he said quietly. He struggled to keep his thoughts in order, but the worry was starting to seep through. Albus said he would be helpless.

He wasn't.

What else have we gotten wrong?