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Chapter 10: The Potion
Peter Pettigrew hurried nervously down a limestone walkway leading to a very large, very imposing castle. It made an island of itself, built into an enormous chunk of rock near the shore of the beach. He'd come from a thick forest just under two-hundred feet behind him. It was his first summon to Maison Serpent, the abandoned castle claimed by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
Everything about the castle made Peter fear entering it. For one, the walkway on which he presently stood had no railing, which didn't make the fifty-foot climb to the castle's main entrance any more comforting; sharp rocks jabbed upward from the sandy shore. The green, triangular tops of even the smallest towers stood at least eighty feet over his head, and the way the vines upon vines of ivy coiled around the architecture reminded him of strangulation.
Peter decided that he didn't like Albania.
"Lumos," he whispered, and his wand brought light to his dim surroundings.
"Pettigrew," hissed a female voice.
Peter gasped and whirled around. The face of Bellatrix Lestrange appeared in the wand light.
'She's very pretty,' thought Peter. 'If only she wasn't newly married...oh, why do I bother?'
"I've been waiting for you," she said, slowly circling him. "The Master has a very important job for you. Mind you, if it weren't for the circumstances, you would have been his last choice. You're not exactly handy, Pettigrew."
"Circumstances?" he repeated, ignoring her subtle insult. They began to walk further into the castle.
She smirked. "I'll leave the explanation to Lucius and the Master. Merlin knows Lucius has been waiting for this..."
"Lucius? Since when does he give orders?"
Bellatrix frowned at his petulant tone. "Who asked your opinion on the workings of the Death Eaters, Pettigrew?"
He made no reply, only scowled.
Bellatrix lifted a cloaked arm to open a large, old-fashioned wooden door. She entered first, her cloak billowing behind her as she went, and Peter shuffled meekly inside in her wake. Both inclined their heads toward their master, Peter following Bellatrix's motion. Lucius stood beside where Voldemort sat, eyes following the two as they drew closer.
Voldemort made no move to lower his hood, as his three Death Eaters had.
"Peter," said Voldemort, by way of greeting, "Lucius and I are very pleased to see you."
"You are?" Peter felt pleased, too, to hear this.
"Certainly," responded Voldemort smoothly. "You are the only willing person"--Bellatrix coughed pointedly--"who could conduct this job inconspicuously."
Lucius grinned at Peter. "Yes, old chap. You're doing me quite the favor. Us," he corrected quickly, glancing at his master. "Doing us quite the favor."
"What am I doing, exactly?" asked Peter, somewhat fearfully.
Voldemort dipped his long-fingered hand into his robe pocket, withdrawing a test-tube sized vial of clear liquid. "You are to slip this into Lily Evans's drink. I don't care how you manage it, just do it without being seen." He handed Peter the vial. "Don't let it break. If it breaks, you will make a new potion by hand."
Peter nodded and swallowed. Potions was his worst subject at Hogwarts. He turned to leave, but faced his master again a second later.
"Master? What does the potion do?" he questioned.
"It won't kill her, not that you should care," he said, seeing through his question. "It will render her...easier to deal with."
"Yes, Master," nodded Peter, for lack of something better. He started again for the door, frustrated at his master's response.
"Bella." Voldemort spoke unexpectedly. "Accompany Young Pettigrew to the beach."
"Of course, Master."
Peter and Bellatrix left the room.
"What is all of this about?" asked Peter. "Aren't I to be given any explanation at all?" Fleetingly, he regretted accepting his invitation to join the Death Eaters. More respect, his toe.
"Nobody thought you'd be needing one," said Bellatrix coolly. "Aren't you aware of the December nineteenth trial? And the occupants of cell twenty-seven?" Peter shook his head. "My lord, Pettigrew. Do you not speak at all with Lucius?" She didn't wait for his answer. "Lily Evans got Lucius in quite a lot of trouble in court. Suppose that's what he gets for screwing around with a Mudblood. Anyway, he felt she needed to be taught a lesson. Shown who's boss." She brought her index finger to the vial. "That there's Obedience Potion."
- - -
Lily scrutinized the woman as she crossed the room to Officer Mediro's desk. She stood several inches taller than Lily, who--admittedly--was not one of the tallest creatures ever to walk the planet, and walked in a confident, although not pompous manner. A floral summer dress covered her slightly overweight figure, and a large-rimmed straw hat half-hid her cherry wood tinted curls. She glanced at Lily when she passed her; the woman had James's eyes, with not even the slightest of differences.
"Hello," she said pleasantly to the policeman. "I'm Erin Potter. I've come to pick up my son James and his friends."
Officer Mediro was delighted by this news. "Please sign here, madam," he nearly sang, placing an official-looking document in front of her on the desktop, "as a record of their release."
Mrs. Potter scribbled her name on the line and faced the teens. Officer Mediro whisked the paper into a desk drawer.
Mrs. Potter eyed James, Lily, and Sirius. "You three ready to head home?" She didn't appear to notice Dinah.
"We can't go just yet," said Lily. "What about Dinah?"
"Who, dear?" asked Mrs. Potter, facing her.
"Me," said Dinah, standing in her chair to make herself visible. Mrs. Potter smiled at the child.
"Is this your younger sister?"
"No," replied Lily. "She's not my sister." She braced herself for the reaction.
Mrs. Potter's eyes widened a tad. "Well, she couldn't be your--"
"Mum!" James cut in abruptly. "How about a stroll through downtown Little Whinging?" He tossed his arm about his mother's shoulders and started leading her from the room.
"Lily." Dinah snagged the collar of her jacket. "I can't leave. I have to wait for Mrs. Vermaat to come get me."
Lily nodded at her. "James!" she called.
James's head snapped in her direction. "Yeah?"
She beckoned him back into the office.
"Change of plans, Mum," he announced, leading the amused-looking woman back inside.
"What is going on?" she inquired of her son.
He started to explain, but the door opened again and he fell silent.
"I came as soon as I could," said Mrs. Vermaat apologetically to Officer Mediro. She looked reproachfully at Lily. "Come, child," she said to Dinah, extending her hand. "Let's take you home."
Dinah crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not going back to the orphanage."
"Oh?" said Mrs. Vermaat, and the corners of her mouth curled slowly into an amused smile. "And where, pray tell, do you plan to live?"
Dinah leaned into Lily's side. "With Lily. And James."
James's mother nudged him and mouthed, "You've got some explaining to do."
"I will not place you in the care of that irresponsible girl," said Mrs. Vermaat, as though Lily weren't standing in front of her.
"Lily takes good care of me!" said Dinah defensively. "She buys me dinner and takes me on vacation and let me keep Max!" She pointed to her kitten. "She tells me stories and hugs me a lot! Lily loves me!"
"Enough of this," ordered Mrs. Vermaat. "Come with me now."
"No!" Dinah shouted. "I won't go with you! Never!"
Lily had no idea what to do or say. What could change the woman's mind?
Mrs. Vermaat snatched Dinah from the chair and dragged her, kicking, screaming, and hitting, toward the office door.
"Lily!" sobbed Dinah, frightened. "Save me!"
If Lily grabbed for Dinah, the city would be even less open to Dinah's adoption. But if she didn't try and wrench her from Mrs. Vermaat's grip, she might lose Dinah for good.
Lily darted forward and seized the child's outstretched hand. The suddenness of the new weight startled the old woman and Dinah rolled into Lily's arms, toppling them both to the floor. Dinah clung tightly to Lily.
"Young lady!" barked Officer Mediro, rising from his chair. "What the devil do you mean by this?"
Lily inched into a standing position, hindered under Dinah's weight. "You can't take her away," she said to Mrs. Vermaat. "I need her. She takes away the pain of my parents' deaths; I never feel like crying over them when she's with me. Why would you force a wanted child to return to an orphanage? Aren't orphanages supposed to give children to loving families?" Lily thought she'd made a good point. She hoped it would be enough to convince the woman.
"Yes," said Mrs. Vermaat, nearly sneering. "We give children to loving families. Not young, orphaned teenagers who can barely support themselves. And definitely not to people who run off with children to other countries! Living with you is not in the child's best interest."
James moved beside Lily. "We have plenty of resources to take care of Dinah, thanks," he said coolly. "And this," he gestured to Lily, his mother, and Sirius. "Is this not a family?"
"She's a criminal," said Mrs. Vermaat through clenched teeth.
"Cleared!" Sirius said loudly. "She was cleared of all charges! And the situation was explained to you!"
"She is nonetheless irresponsible! And not yet eighteen, besides."
"I am," said James. "I'm eighteen."
The teens stared at the old woman in determination. Her fierce countenance was cracking slowly, unable to withstand their arguments. She had no other point to attempt.
"Very well," she said stiffly. "The papers await downtown."
Lily grinned and embraced Dinah tightly, overjoyed at their luck.
"You're going to be my mother!" Dinah squealed.
- - -
During the cab ride to the orphanage, the teens filled in Mrs. Potter on the last two days. She told them, in turn, that Dumbledore owled her about the arrest shortly after arriving at the airport. He'd assured her everything was under control, that James's involvement was probably a misunderstanding, and asked her to come so she could escort the boys back to Chatham.
The idea of her son adopting a child made Mrs. Potter uneasy, at first. She didn't feel he was quite ready to take on the myriad of responsibilities being a parent entailed. She also didn't like that he and a girl to whom he was not married were to raise the child together. Or so they made it seem. But still she invited Lily into her home. She had nothing against her personally, after all, and was glad to see her getting along so nicely with James, who had told his mother countless times about beautiful, red-haired Lily Evans.
Signing Dinah's papers took only a few minutes, especially because Mrs. Vermaat was eager to get Lily and James out of her hair. James became her legal guardian, and was told that he had the options of joint guardianship with Lily once she came of age, and simply handing full guardianship over to Lily. Before Lily could open her mouth, James agreed to the latter.
Mrs. Potter insisted they go out to dinner that night to celebrate, as she was keen on getting to know Lily better. Sirius and James heartily agreed, as neither they nor the others had eaten anything all day, and Dinah and Lily hardly objected. They dined at a restaurant Lily had never been to before. It resided in the well-to-do segment of Little Whinging, a place neither she nor her parents felt comfortable in. Lily always felt she had to conduct her behavior flawlessly around such affluent company; she much preferred the casualty of a burger joint. She mentioned none of this to the others, of course. James would probably laugh at her for such a notion. Eating in similar restaurants seemed an everyday thing for him.
'Why, just look at how easily he makes small talk with the...rather attractive waiter,' Lily observed. 'And the folded napkin in his lap! Oh,...oh, God. He even lifted his pinkie finger when he sipped his tea! Sirius too! Since when did they acquire such manners?'
Lily nearly laughed aloud when Sirius dabbed at his mouth with his napkin; something she ended up having to do, as she snorted into her tea to conceal the laugh. James chuckled at Lily from across the table.
'Was that a mock?' she wondered. 'Is he laughing at me? No, why would he? It was only a bit of tea. Can't have been funny. Must have just been happy. Right.' Lily frowned slightly. 'Why do I care so much what he thinks of me? Let him laugh! I...really...don't...care.'
But she found she did. She wanted James to like her, to think her well-mannered and intelligent. She certainly didn't want him laughing at her! Why, they had to respect each other now! Treat each other with dignity! They were, after all, caring for the same child.
Or were they?
Lily's heart took off in a frenzy. Had he only adopted Dinah out of...politeness? Worse, she considered, out of pity for her...
She excused herself from the table without a second thought, upsetting a glass of water in her rush. Blushing and babbling her apologies like a moron, she scooped the cubes back into the glass, set it upright and made for the French doors to exit the restaurant. She thought she heard Mrs. Potter--from a distance--mutter, "Odd girl" to her son.
Cold not from the weather--which would have been absurd--but her thoughts, Lily pulled the front flaps of her jacket closer and seated herself on a stiff, concrete bench two shops down from the restaurant, gazing blankly across the street as the sky took on the pale hues of evening.
What if James didn't do it at all out of affection for her? Maybe he'd been trying to avoid another bout of tears and hastened to...no, James wasn't like that. He really did care for Lily. He said so himself, didn't he? And he seemed sincere enough...
Would he expect something in return? Did Lily now owe him a favor? What could she possibly do for him? James had everything already. What more could he require? A dangerous thought crawled into Lily's mind:
Would he be expecting sex in return?
Her hand blanketed her mouth. Certainly not! He knew very well about Lily's previous sexual experience--how could he even dream, even imagine something like that to--
'He didn't,' she reminded herself. 'He never even implied--'
A dark attired figure caught her eye from across the street. He walked slowly, purposefully, with his hands in his pockets and chanced a quick look at Lily--who viewed him freely, eyes following him as he went--when he passed her. From under the extended rim of his hat, Lily glimpsed his face--pockmarked, as though he'd been stricken with a terrible case of acne in his teens. In his teens? What was she thinking? He was still a teen! Come to think about it, he looked quite familiar to her...
His name came to her with a frightened gasp; Augustus Rookwood, a creepy friend of Malfoy's. She'd once seen them together in the Forbidden Forest shooting down deer and small animals at their leisure. But what was he doing here? Rookwood didn't live in Little Whinging! It simply wasn't possible. Didn't all such foul creatures, she mused, reside in Transylvania?
Amusing though she found her joke, Rookwood's presence in her hometown alarmed her. And he was watching her.
'Don't be stupid!' she chided herself. 'Watching me. Surely not. He probably just recognized me, that's all. No reason to worry.'
Reassured, she rose from the bench in an almost cheerful mood. She allowed herself one last peek at Rookwood, and, to her surprise, he vanished into thin air without a sound, unnoticed by the scant few passersby. Lily shook her head in disapproval of his risky behavior.
'At least he left. See? Worried for nothing.'
She decided as she reentered the restaurant not to mention what she saw to James or Sirius. Having them think her silly or paranoid was the last thing she wanted; things were getting on so well now.
Grinning out of pure, newfound bliss when met with the sight of Dinah and her kitten--to whom the waiter had taken an immense liking and concealed from the manager--Lily slid back into her chair as a slice of cake coated in rich, chocolate frosting was placed before her.
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