Pure Sinners

Lily knew why she’d been summoned to headquarters and hadn’t had the heart to turn down Sirius’s offer to accompany her. The walk seemed longer than normal as she navigated her way towards Riddle’s office. A bad feeling worming its way under her skin as she pushes past the throng of people in the hall. The space was packed, a few people were scattered on the varying pieces of machinery but most were watching the fight in the centre ring. Lily pushed the feeling aside, allowing Sirius to slip his hand into hers. 

Riddle’s door swung open the first time her fist touched wood. Malfoy opened the door a grim look decorating his face as he stepped aside to let her enter. 

Pandora Rosier lay on the floor, surrounded by a thick pool of dark blood. Her head was bleeding and her chin looked swollen. Her blue eyes were reddened, and the skin of her right eye held a greenish tinge, showing that it would soon blacken. 

Her eyes flicked to Lily as she entered the room, and then to Sirius as he closed the door. Her eyes were back on her before Lily had time to blink. She looked frightened and Lily hated how there was no comfort she could offer her.  

“Kitten, I’m so glad you made it.” Riddle's voice was cheery as he stood above Rosier. Lily nodded accepting the greeting but unwilling to play a part in Pandora’s torture. Riddle sighed, upset by her morals.  “Very well, we’ve asked all our questions. The rat is all your's pet” Riddle pressed a gun into Lily's palm and she suddenly wished she hadn’t come. She wished she’d ignored the summons, just this once. 

She didn’t want to kill Pandora. She had done nothing to her, had been nothing but nice to the girl about to take her life. She remembered the way Pandora had blushed when she called her by her name. 

A man shifted in the corner of the room, drawing Lily’s attention.

It was the man from the party - Rosier. 

Her brother. 

He looked pale, back braced against the wall as if it were the only thing holding him up. Lily noticed for the first time how similar they looked, same sloped nose and beady eyes which seemed to bore through bone with ease. 

Lily looked back to Pandora. She was wearing purple. A floaty dress which spilt out around her, darkened at the edges by the blood she had lost. 

Bile rose in Lily’s throat, thick and vile in her mouth as she swallowed it down.

Her eyes were downcast now, and as Lily moved closer she saw she was crying. The gun wobbled in her hand as Lily stared at the teardrops falling down her face. 

“Kitten” Riddle reprimanded and Lily's finger flipped the safety at the sound. One step and another, until her gun was pointed at the trembling girl directly below her. 

Her eyes were so blue. Turning up at Lily with an emotion she couldn't decipher. 

Her body was shaking, the sound of it echoing through the silent room. 

She was afraid. 

The blood on her temple was congealing, sticking to her pale hair. 

Pandora got headaches constantly. She had told Lily once;  it felt like a bullet in the brain.

Lily looked around the room, for what she wasn't sure. 

The door behind her was shut - Malfoy’s body in front of it.

Pandora was too injured to run. 

Lily tilted her head, looking over the girl legs, she could walk.  

The brother would help. Surely he would do something, Lily could count on him. 

Sirius too. 

She took another step, kneeling in Pandora’s blood. 

Riddle 

Malfoy 

Nott

Three of them. She could take them.

Sirius’s body had tensed, his feet inching closer to Malfoy.

“Pandora” It was a whisper, nothing more than wind as a bullet sailed past Lily’s ear. 

Pandora’s blue eyes imploded, blood spraying against Lily’s face as Pandora’s lifeless body slumped against her chest. 

Blood was in her mouth, her eyes. 

She couldn't see, couldn't hear anything but the ringing in her ears. Pandora’s weight pressed down on her, warm blood seeping into her clothes. 

Lily pushed her down, laying her on her spine before raising her gun at the attacker. 

Rosier was looking at his sister's corpse, a gun shaking in his hand. 

Lily’s finger twitched against her own trigger, rage blinding her to anything but retribution. 

“Well done Rosier. Good to see there are still dedicated members in the DE|” The voice was Nott’s, loud and piercing through the ringing. It had calmed a little, more of a dull wine now. Riddle waved a hand, Nott directing a few Blight’s into the room to gather up Pandora’s body. Nott followed them out, leaving silence in his wake.

Lily said nothing but clambered to her feet as she wiped the blood from her eyes. Sirius handed her a handkerchief, and she did her best to clean her face. 

She could feel it, sticky against her arms, and neck. 

Rosier couldn't tear his eyes away from it, Twin blue orbs following his sister's blood as it ran down the loose strand of her hair - Redder now than it had ever been. 

Lily saw him looking, She hoped it hurt. 

Sirius slipped his hand into hers, the blood transferring onto his pale skin at once. Lily tried to focus, her mind drifting in and out of her body as Riddle began speaking. 

“I have a very unique job,” Riddle began, and Lily tried to listen. One of our members has been getting some rather negative backlash on his political aspirations, " he said, and Lily wracked her brain for who it could be. As you know, we do not. " A loud siren cut Riddle off, and Lily stared wide-eyed at the headquarters alarms. 

Red light filled the room, alerting them that the police had breached the building. 

 “Shit” Lily’s voice was sharp, her feet moving quickly towards the door. She reached for one of Riddle's plentiful chairs and shoved it under the handle.  

It wouldn’t hold for long.

 She pulled her knife from her waistband, watching as Riddle hit the secret panel in the wall. The door groaned, unprepared for the use. 

A pounding began at the door, thunderous against the aged wood. 

Riddle slipped in Pandora’s blood, legs falling as he buckled towards the ground. Lily cursed, moving swiftly towards him. 

She caught him gently, pulling him up and steadying him on his feet. 

The door cracked: splinters raining across the room. Lily angled her body in front of Riddle as she pushed him towards the now-open steal door. He clambered over the grate, barely a foot into the tunnel before the police barged into the room.

“Hands up!” One of the cops demanded. Lily ignored him, throwing her knife into the space just above his ear. It struck the wall behind him, and he jumped aside.

He pointed his gun at her and Lily Laughed. 

Her feet stayed planted, arms at her side as she blocked the entrance to Riddle’s tunnel with the body. Sirius’s fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling at her skin as he tried to drag her out of the man's range. 

“Out of the way” another voice called, a tall blonde in civilian clothes pushed through the mass. Her revolver was small and silver - aimed at Lily’s head. 

Lily couldn't help her smirk st the woman lifted her gun, shooting a bullet straight into the wall above Lily's head. Lily’s fingers twitched for the gun she had held minutes before, her eyes finding it abandoned on the floor behind the blonde woman. 

Lily let out a breath, wrenching her arm from Sirius’s grip as her second knife left her sleeve, aimed high. 

It hit the light above them, just as Sirius moved between her and the woman. The room was plunged into darkness. She grappled for Sirius’s hand, dragging him down through the tunnel at a breakneck pace. 

 The space was cramped and she could hear a herd of footsteps behind her, but Lily pushed on, her hand a vice on Sirius’s own. She pushed her legs harder, forcing Sirius to do the same.

The light was blinding as they emerged. Lily moved forward even as her eyes struggled to adjust. Sirius slammed the door behind them, toppling the nearby dustbin in front of the door. 

Riddle was waiting in the back of a black van. His hand was paused, ready to shut the door as he saw her. He beckoned her quickly and Lily ran. Her hand grasped Sirius by the forearm as she threw them into the vehicle. 

The driver tore off down the road as Riddle slammed the door shut. 

Lily’s breath was coming in sharp, quick pants. Her heart slammed against her ribcage as she took stock of Riddle.  

His gaze swept over her and Lily tried to ignore the warmth the action ignited within her. Once he was satisfied she had no life-threatening injuries he began speaking to the driver in hushed tones. 

“Are you okay?” Her raspy voice was heard as she turned to Sirius. He was bent, his hands resting on his knees, gasping for breath. Sirius shook his head  . “S..tich,” he managed eventually, and Lily let out a small rush of breath—that may have been a laugh.

Riddle rejoined them, two bottles of water held tightly in his fists. He handed one to Lily, before unscrewing the other and bringing it to his lips.  

She passed the bottle to Sirius, the top still screwed, before turning to look out the window. 

“What happens now?” She asked, voice cracked. Sirius grimaces, at the question or her voice she isn’t sure. “I’ve sent out a message, coded of course.” He said as though Lily hadn’t assumed “We find who got out and we find who leaked headquarters.” His voice was cold and Lily didn’t need to ask what would happen to the Rat. 

She was still picturing Pandora - bloody and lifeless on the floor.

“How do you know it wasn’t Rosier?” Sirius asked and Lily blinked, realising she had not thought of Pandora capable of such a feat. “The warehouse was also hit.” Riddle offered reluctantly in his voice. Sirius nodded, it was common knowledge you couldn’t get to the warehouse without an invite. 

Lily smiled ruefully. 

Invites only went to Blessings. 

The drive wasn’t too long, Lily had quickly recognised the route and had been surprised that Riddle would allow Sirius into his home. 

The driver stopped only once, leaving the car to undo the chain across the gates. Sirius stared out the window at all the signs along the drive, his face was still but his eyes showed he was rather unnerved by his surroundings. 

“Get some sleep” Riddle ordered, when they reached the door. Turning back to converse with the driver, he called over his shoulder. “We shall deal with this in the morning”

Lily nodded, leading Sirius into the foyer. 

Sirius seemingly forgetful of their near miss with the police whistled, “Wow, this place is huge,”  His eyes absorbed each and every surface of the room as Lily, led him towards the east wing. It was the most disused part of the house, and pieces of plaster fell from the walls at random intervals.  Lily grimaced, eyes bouncing over the small droppings littering the edges of the floor. It was however the most private part of the house and the only part she felt comfortable sleeping in.  

“God. Does Riddle not have cleaners?” Sirius asked as he ran his fingers along the dusty grand piano in the second drawing room.

 “No,” Lily said simply as she stepped quickly through another room. 

Sirius quieted, his footsteps in time with Lily's as she turned down corridor after corridor. Her feet only stopped when she reached the room she was looking for. 

The paint on the door was chipped, white paint yellowed with age. Her fingers dusted the space, pushing lightly as the door gave way.

The room was spacious, each piece of furniture covered by a white sheet, keeping the layers of dust separate from the antiques. Lily fiddled with the light twitch, settling on puling open the curtains against the far wall. Dust flew, illuminated by the bay windows. 

Lily wasted no time, pulling at each sheet until the room she remembered began to form. Sirius stood in the doorway, eyes roving over the furnishings.

- An oak desk and chair. 

- A wooden bed frame, with a queen-sized mattress. 

- A dark maple bookcase, empty except for one solitary work of Hemingway. 

- And finally, a small wooden easel rested against the frame of the bay window. 

“I-is…have you slept here before?” Sirius asked moving further into the room and closing the door behind him. Lily shrugged, forcing her unease down towards her feet. Sirius nodded as though he understood and grabbed the other end of the sheet. 

Sleep was elusive that night. Worry crept into Lily’s mind, toying with her dreams and shaping the shadows into dangerous monsters. James hadn’t made it home before they’d had to leave and Lily wondered what he and Remus would do when they failed to return home. 

Remus knew they were at headquarters, he would have heard the sirens and known to lay low, but James. James - her stupid idiot - James wouldn’t lay low. He’d come after them, or at least he’d try. 

She needed to call them. To tell them where she was, and where they should go. 

There was a town a few miles from here and she was positive they must have a payphone. She cursed her reluctance to carry her burner, and Sirius’s reliance on her. 

The feeling in her gut hadn’t gotten better. In fact the emotion had only grown more volatile since walking through headquarters that afternoon. Something was wrong, she knew that but she didn’t know what else could possibly go awry. 

Pandora was dead. 

The police had caught a large number of DE members. 

Remus was alone at home, waiting. 

James hadn’t seen them go, Lily hadn’t said goodbye. 

Lily abandoned sleep. She didn’t understand who Pandora could have been working with, she didn’t have any close friends in the Death Eaters. She’d always been the quiet type. 

 Rising quietly from the bed Lily turned her gaze to Sirius. His body was rounded under the blanket, his breathing coming in soft even waves. Lily envied him. She plucked the worn copy from the bookcase before carefully tiptoeing into the corridor. The halls were quiet as she walked along them, the chill seeping deeper into her bones with each step. 

The drawing room was dark, the light had blown years ago. A wayward shot from Lily as she practiced her knife throwing in the dying firelight. She considered the fireplace but decided against the effort. She slid into the nearest chair, using the light from a few wayward gaps in the curtains in order to illuminate her reading. She opened the book slowly, palm sliding down the cracked spine. Her breath was soft as she swiped away the dusk coating the yellowed page. 

She couldn’t help herself as she began tracing her fingers over the signature she knew by heart.

‘Tom Riddle, aged 11’

Lily stared at the name, willing answers to questions she never asked before she allowed her eyes to fall lower. It was barely legible; a chicken scratch that would be indecipherable to anyone but her.

‘Lily Evans, aged 10 & 3/4.’

She turned the page, allowing the familiar story to soothe her to sleep in the moonlight.