The Amulet

Lily stood in front of the sink, flicking open the red cap of the fairy liquid and squirting a generous amount inside the washing-up bowl. With a swish of her willow wand, she conjured hot water and swirled it in, creating a soapy consistency. Once she was satisfied, she pocketed the wand. Immune to the heat of the water, Lily dove a hand in feeling the unmistakable shape of dishes begin to appear as the bowl’s runes activated collecting dirty crockery from around the house. She rooted around, pulled a cup from its deceivingly deep depth, and wet a cotton cloth to rub it clean.

She heard a whimper from the other room and forcefully exhaled in agitation. Quickly rinsing the cup and putting it on the draining board, Lily hurriedly dried her hands on the nearest tea towel, pivoting out of the kitchen towards the sitting room to meet Harry. She barely took a step into the room and already her lips were pursing in disapproval, it was becoming a common occurrence ever since she first moved in. Harry was not where she left him inside of his transfigured cot. He probably escaped again. Instead, he was in front of Sirius cradling his hand to his chest. Sirius’s large frame sat in his favourite plump armchair glaring at Harry with a look of deep disgust over the Daily Prophet. It was easily becoming the more prominent feature on Sirius’s face and it rubbed her the wrong way seeing that look directed at Harry.

“What’s he done now,” she muttered as she knelt in front of Harry, his green eyes welling up with tears upon seeing her, his bottom lip wobbling as he brought the back of his hand up for her to inspect. She frowned at the red-dotted bruise starting to form.

“He was bothering me,” said Sirius grumpily.

Lily inwardly seethed. “You could have picked him up or given him a toy to occupy himself until I came to get him.”

Sirius scoffed, folded up the paper, and sat back in his seat, running his finger through his dark hair. He gave her a pointed look. “He’s not my responsibility.”

“He is your godson,” she retorted, unable to remove the emotion from her voice. She picked Harry up and propped him on the side of her hip.

“James’ son was my godson. Not this-” he waved at Harry as if to banish him from his presence, his lip curling. “-thing.”

Lily angled Harry defensively away from him, her teeth gnashing in an effort to hold her tongue.

“Look at the way he looks at me,” Sirius sneered. “Just like his father.”

Lily had heard enough. The conversation didn’t warrant excusing herself. She made an about-turn out of the room and internally thanked her mother for her long legs because she didn’t think she could get out of there fast enough. She shut the door behind her to the guest bedroom and sat Harry on the bed. She pulled out her wand from her back pocket and summoned her suitcase, once again piling all manner of clothes and toiletries that she kept nearby from the last time she decided to leave, but when she picked up her money pouch from the bedside table, she was reminded of her predicament by how light it was.

She had nowhere to go.

With part of her home in Godric’s Hollow destroyed and the wards dismantled, she didn’t have the funds necessary to repair it and re-ward it. Not if she wanted to have enough money to eat beyond the week. She considered finding work when she was first offered to move into Brooding Place two months ago but when the news of Voldemort’s defeat was released to the public as well as Harry’s paternity in the Exclusive, Sirius was not too happy with them staying. He went from welcoming them with open arms to loathing. Lily tried to explain how events really happened, and instead of being understanding, Sirius zeroed in on Harry and how it was her fault that the last of James was gone. She didn’t think she would ever be defending Severus so soon but to her surprise, she did. She shouldn’t have made an effort. She could tell whatever she said went in one ear and out the other with Sirius and Lily never challenged his views on it again. It wasn’t until recently that Sirius started to physically reprimand Harry. She didn’t notice it at first but a week prior when changing Harry’s nappy, she saw a large handprint on his bum and thigh, the edges red and inflamed. She battled with herself, wondering if she should confront Sirius about it but ended up talking herself out of it when she rationalized that he was Harry’s godfather, and now that James was no longer there, Sirius would be taking over the role. He had always been moody but his latest stunt took the biscuit when he had the audacity to punish Harry for bothering him.

Tuning back to the present, her peripheral caught Harry teetering on the edge of the bed in an effort to get to her. Lily scooped him up and held him, feeling his small arms wrap around her neck. She felt him shudder and leaned back to get a good look at him. There were tears streaming down his face, and she felt guilty that she didn’t notice him crying because she was so engrossed in her thoughts. He dove to find comfort on her neck, nuzzling until he rested his head on her shoulder. Lily soothingly rubbed his back to calm his sobbing spasms.

“Ohh,” Lily crooned. “My darling boy. What a pair we are.”

She held him, swaying until he fell asleep, lulling them both into a sense of security. Right then, in that room, there was privacy. Behind Sirius Black’s family wards, they were free from the threats of Death Eaters. They were safe and they were together. That’s all that mattered.

A low distant knock on a door broke her reverie. It sounded like it came from the front, she briefly wondered who it could be. Since they moved in, Sirius never had a visitor. She tucked her stray hair behind her ear and angled it toward the door. She heard Sirius groan from the arduous effort it took to get up from his seat and shuffle towards the door. Another knock sounded, rapping in quick succession as if they were impatient.

“Probably those doorstep scammers,” Sirius grumbled.

Lily furrowed her brows in confusion. Didn’t he already cast muggle-repelling charms when he first moved in?

She could hear him turn the key to jiggle the handle before a large explosion rocked her from her feet. Harry was jarred awake and began to cry in fear. Lily’s heartbeat skyrocketed while her vision tunnelled. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion, her mind racing making rapid-fire decisions to ensure her and Harry’s survival.

Harry. Wand. Visualize. Escape.

Harry. Wand. Visualize. Escape.

Lily had a firm grasp on Harry. She could see him with his mouth ajar in a silent scream and barely acknowledged it before she patted her back pocket for her wand and found it empty. Her breath hitched in alarm. She began to nonsensically pat her non-existent front pockets in desperation. Pre-emptively, she swirled to face the door, cradling Harry to her chest protectively, a move that would have eerily reminded her of Voldemort’s invasion. Wandless, off-guard and vulnerable. The door silently swung open, revealing a tall, dark-haired woman whose lips curled at the ends in a cheshire grin upon seeing her. She mouthed a “Hello there”, her wand at the ready and as if it were a command, she was immediately flanked by two burly men. Lily stumbled backwards nearly tripping on her clothes before righting herself.

A metallic high pitch noise sounded. A grating noise that made her wonder if it was coming from her ears or brain, it overwhelmed her senses and popped the deafening balloon her body unhelpfully placed on her during her adrenaline rush. She could immediately hear her surroundings again. Harry's hoarse screams filled the room, pawing at her and frantically seeking the comfort only she could bring.

The female intruder stepped further in, her wild black curls styled parted to the side. She gave a very attractive pout as she neared them.

“Poor wittle Potter.” The woman said in a mock-baby voice. She paused mid-step, canting her hip to the side and crossing her arms. She seductively traced her wand up her bosom and along her neck, placing it playfully on her bottom lip as if in thought. “Oh, it’s Snape now, isn’t it?” 

The woman smiled looking very much like a cat who caught the canary.

If it were at all possible, Harry's screech shrilled in response. Lily winced in empathy, unable to comfort him.

The dark hard woman pointed her curved wand at Lily threateningly, all smiles forgotten. “Shut him up! Or I’ll do it for you.”

Afraid to let her eyes stray for even a second, Lily pressed Harry’s head to her shoulder and hushed him, slightly bouncing him. He responded well, only letting out a whimper when the black-haired woman told her to put Harry down. Not having the foresight to bring the cot from the sitting room into her room, she once again placed her son on the bed and stood in front of him defensively. He immediately lost interest in them and began rummaging through her suitcase. As long as he was entertained…

“Tell me,” the dark-haired woman bared her teeth as she spoke. “Where is the Dark Lord.”

The blood drained from Lily’s face. Were these Voldemort’s followers? The Death Eaters? It was hard to tell when the group was always wearing masks. She didn’t know what she thought when they entered the home. Sirius always seemed like he would dabble in the side of danger, a part of her just assumed these were angry unsavoury people from a place he frequented.

“I-,” she started, her mouth moving before her brain approved of the words.

She heard a male yowl in pain in the other room. The death eaters closest to the female blocking the entrance chuckled.

The dark-haired female sneered in response, and she flicked her arm in agitation before closing the distance between Lily. Lily took a diagonal step forward to protect Harry who moved and blocked him from potentially falling off the bed though that didn’t discourage the other woman from grabbing a handful of red hair and pulling it, exposing her neck, which she jabbed a dark, crooked wand at.

“Bella,” one of the other men near the entrance called out.

Lily’s heart palpitated, it both rose at the hope that possibly one of the death eaters was discouraging the woman from attacking an unarmed witch but when she heard the name of her attacker, her heart sank within the same breath. A death eater called Bella. Bellatrix Lestrange. Lily gulped and closed her eyes in dread. She heard of her in passing from other Auror members. Infamous for her cruelty to her victims and the more crazed of the Black Family. Lily's eyes snapped open meeting the woman’s cold, calculating gaze and she could find nothing within them that could discredit any of the rumours.

Bellatrix’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me.”

She emphasized the last word by painfully gripping the roots of Lily’s hair and shaking it, causing her to groan in protest. Bellatrix countered with a pleased smile, but it seemed more like she was baring her teeth. She yanked at the red hair again, causing Lily’s knees to buckle a bit in pain and she reactively laid her hand on Bellatrix’s wrist but did nothing beyond that.

“I-I don’t know.” Tears of pain sprung from Lily’s eyes.

“Lies!” She pushed Lily down on the floor, and two things happened at once, her willow wand rolled off from under her suitcase, within reaching distance but before she could muster a thought to grab it, Bellatrix snarled out a curse. “Crucio!”

Lily yelped but clenched her teeth, refusing to scream and scare Harry. She didn’t want their attention to divert to him. She didn’t know what she would do if they hurt him.

“Crucio. Crucio. Crucio!”

Back to back, the curse built up like a wave electrifying her nerves until she let a yell, and she discovered once she opened her mouth, she couldn’t hold back the screams, no matter what she did. Tears began to cascade down her cheeks, uncertain if it was due to the pain or Harry’s wailing calls.

She felt guilty for feeling grateful for the small break when it came. Her rational thoughts caught up with her when she realized that meant that Harry was being targeted.

Lily tried again to reach for the willow that rolled just out of view under the bed, and she was kicked for her efforts by one of the men that lingered in the doorway. She placed her hand protectively at her side, looking up at him incredulously.

“Crucio.” She heard Bellatrix say again.

Lily’s head snapped to the left, her mouth open in a frozen ‘no’ but instead of Harry writhing in pain as expected, the curse rebounded and hit the caster who shrugged it off with a crazed laugh. Using the distraction to her advantage, Lily dove for her wand and gripped the hilt before she was dragged from under her bed with a curse ready on her lips but it was all over too soon when she came into view and was quickly disarmed, her wand clattered harmlessly behind the second man who decided to join in on the fun. Lily clenched her fist in agitation. She was so close.

“Crucio.”

“Crucio.”

Both men spoke softly but their curses were not weak by any means. She convulsed on the floor and they cursed her without break. She had half a mind to blearily look through her eyelashes to see Bellatrix holding on to Harry’s collar like one would hold a scruff of an animal.

“Nooo,” Lily growled, just as another curse hit her and she knocked her head on the floor in pain. When she regained what little bearing she had, she realized that in her bloody clenched hand was a wand, and without any spoken spell, she released her pain with a slash in the air and the attacks stopped.

Lily struggled to bring her knees under her as she fought for consciousness.

“Crucio!” Lily heard again and felt the curse but unlike before she still had her wits about her. She turned her upper body to face Bellatrix who was posed in front of her two bodyguards, her wand wavering as she struggled to point the wand directly at Bellatrix.

“Avada-“

“Confrin-“ she whispered, the peripheral of her vision darkening, but when she blinked, Bellatrix was gone, and Lily felt the darkness devour the last of her sight and thoughts.

When she came to, it was to a loud clatter. She became aware of a bright light behind her eyelids which she struggled to open. Lily’s body curled in a fetal position as she shook in pain from the aftereffects of the Cruciatus Curse, her hand cradled protectively to her chest, a wand still in her hand. Lily's eyes finally cracked open to see the familiar knobby grey wand in her hand gifted to her by Dumbledore, unexpected from the light brown willow she thought came to her aid. She didn’t even remember grabbing it. There was more shuffling, like something being thrown around and Lily looked beyond the tip of her nose and met the blinding lightbulb that appeared to have fallen on the floor, the lampshade having protected it from the fall. She groaned as she tried to turn and blinked the dark imprint of the light out of her eyelids. Shakily, she worked her way up to a high kneel, holding her pulsing head when she succeeded. Her green eyes observed her surroundings, finding the culprit by her feet, chewing on the tassel of one of her jumpers, surrounded by all manner of clothing and potion bottles.

“Harry,” Lily said, relieved.

Harry’s green eyes met hers and he gave her a toothy smile before crawling over the pile he had made and throwing himself in her trembling arms. Lily enveloped him, breathing in his familiar scent and finding comfort in how he struggled under her firm hold. She laughed and peppered him with kisses, cradling his head. Her baby was safe. She pulled away after a parting kiss, and traced the chain from the medallion to expose it.

The amulet worked. It saved Harry from the Cruciatus Curse.

She gave it an appreciative kiss too.

Someone let out a wet cough in the other room and Lily scramble to a standing position, her wand at the ready in front of her. She stepped slowly, mentally backtracking, asking herself if it was possible she gave the element of surprise away by calling Harry’s name. She balanced on the balls of her feet, attempting to make as little noise as possible but it was extremely hard to do with Harry smacking his palm on the hardwood floor as he crawled after her. Lily brushed the noise away with her wand and passed the entrance to see Sirius lying in front of the shredded door, trying to roll to his stomach. Lily’s gut tensed in apprehension as she raced to kneel by his side. It spoke volumes to how hurt he was when he didn’t resist her assistance. He sat up, and a coughing fit overtook him. He only managed to catch the tail end of it on his sleeve after flecks of blood splattered on the floor.

“Oh, Sirius.” She fretted.

Sirius waved her off. “My wand.”

Lily swished the elder wand, “Accio Sirius’s wand.”

Splinters piled on her palm, a thread of some unknown magical creature partially encased in the wood. She offered it to Sirius, uncertain what she should do.

The man jerked his head in irritation.

“Sirius,” Lily didn’t know how to convey what she wanted to say as she reached out to place a hand on his shoulder.

He twisted his body away in annoyance. “Leave me alone, Lily.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” He rounded on her, grey eyes steely as they pinned her in place. “Sorry for replacing James so soon?”

“Sirius, you know I-“

“Sorry for taking everything that’s been handed to you for granted?” He spoke over her.

Lily glared at him in warning but Sirius continued unperturbed.

“You had it all. Married into money but still wanted more, you spread your legs and had a kid. It ended up being his death sentence. But even that wasn’t enough.” He placed emphasis on the last three words by poking her chest. “It was never enough with you.”

“Sirius,” she warned.

“No!”

Lily reared back in alarm, jostling the remnants of Sirius’s wand with the motion.

“No,” he said more quietly, looking to the floor in defeat. “He was happy and you had to mess it all up. I read your letters. Those slight jabs at James. They are glaringly clear now. You didn’t love him. Even found a replacement minutes after his death.”

A stray tear streamed down her face. “That’s not what I meant by the apology and you know it.”

“Oh,” Sirius scoffed, motioning to the mess around him with a hand. “You mean this?”

He leaned forward conspiringly, “I was waiting for them. Had to try my hand at removing the pests from the world. This time you were good for something.”

Lily gasped.

Sirius suddenly coughed and more blood speckled the floor.

Lily stared indifferently. Internally she was warring with herself. She now knew where she stood with Sirius, although a part of her hesitated on committing to that train of thought. She knew Sirius was subject to change his mind at any given movement, it was something James and Remus were really good at handling but Lily wasn’t experienced in all things Sirius. Even so, a part of her felt like she owed it to James to give his friends compassion. Well, not Peter.

“Sirius, we should get you to St Mungos.” She sighed in defeat.

“I could have healed myself if I had my wand,” he snapped bitterly.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Fine, then. I’ll just repair it.”

He turned his lip at her. “You can’t just repair a wand,” he spat out.

But even as he said it, Lily tapped her wand to her palm. “Repairo.”

The pieces assembled themselves, fragments coming from all corners of the room and once it was fully intact, she threw him his wand. “Here.”

He stared at it, gobsmacked.

“Well?” She raised a brow at him.

He raised his head to meet her disapproving look.

“Can’t do it, can you?” She asked. “Maybe you can be honest for once and stop blaming Harry and me for everything under the sun.”

Lily angrily stood up and regretted it immediately when she began to feel lightheaded. She pushed through it and turned to look for Harry and found his small form crumpled on the floor near the entrance of the sitting room.

“Harry!” She raced to his side, kneeling and turning him so he faced her. “No no no!”

Lily patted his cheek. He looked pale as death. “Harry. Please, Harry.”

His small protruding belly appeared to be deflating as he let out a long exhale. A small silvery orb slowly floated out from his parted lips and hovered over him, the red amulet levitating ethereally after it. She stared at it in horror.