"Excuse me," Remus said politely to the man passing by, who stopped. "I was wondering if you could help me find a friend of mine."
"My son, I'm the pastor of this village," the man said with a smile. "I know everyone. Who is your friend?"
Remus hesitated. He guessed Lily wouldn't have given her right name. "She's about my height, mid-thirties, long red hair, bright green eyes…" Like Harry's, he added silently to himself, a small ache in his heart as he thought of the boy who had come to mean so much to him. "She's probably been here for about fifteen years."
The pastor brightened. "Ah, you mean Tizzy!"
"Tizzy?"
"Obviously-or assumedly-that isn't her real name, but we call her Tizzy. She was in such a state when she arrived that she seemed like a Tizzy, so that's what we call her. She's never given us her real name." The pastor nodded. "She lives at the parsonage with me-straight down that way, the white house with red geraniums in the window boxes. You can't miss it."
"Thank you, sir."
"Any time."
The pastor continued down the street. Remus headed off in the direction the former had indicated. It didn't take him long to find the little house. A woman about the pastor's age was puttering in the garden. Two young children, one about eight and one about six, were playing on the lawn; an older boy, perhaps twelve, was helping the woman. It was he who noticed Remus first. "Mum…"
The woman looked over and smiled. "Can I help you?"
I hope this isn't Lily. "I'm looking for…er…Tizzy."
"She's in the living room." The woman gestured to the eight-year-old little girl. "Katie, show him the living room."
"Do you have a piano lesson?" Katie asked as she led Remus up to the porch.
The question threw Remus. "Piano lesson? No, why?"
"Miss Tizzy usually never has visitors unless they're coming for piano lessons."
Remus smiled in spite of himself. "Well, I doubt there's anything about the piano Miss Tizzy can teach me. She's an old friend of mine, and as I recall I taught her how to play the piano."
Katie looked confused. "Oh."
Someone was playing the piano in the living room as the two walked in. Remus recognised the hymn-it was Of the Father's Love Begotten, Lily's favourite hymn and one he had taught her to play. Katie beckoned him in, then ran ahead of him to the living room.
"Someone's here to see you, Miss Tizzy," Remus heard Katie say as he approached. "He says he's your old piano teacher. I'm going back outside, okay?"
"All right, Katie," said a frighteningly familiar voice. "Thank you very much."
Katie darted past Remus. "All set."
"Thank you, Miss Katie," Remus told her kindly. She grinned and scampered off, and he proceeded on his own to the living room.
A tall, slender, woebegone red-haired woman was seated at the piano, her fingers lightly resting on the keys. She had begun playing Angels from the Realms of Glory.
"It jumps to a C, not a B," Remus corrected the woman as she tried to reach the higher register.
"Oh, thanks," the woman said, not looking up. "Can I help you with anything?"
Remus sat down next to her. "You can confirm my suspicions."
"What suspicions?" the woman said, still studying the ivory keys.
"I suspect that you aren't really Miss Tizzy, the nameless, past-less piano teacher who boards at the parsonage. I suspect that you're Lily Evans Potter, the bright-eyed, merry-hearted young woman I first met twenty-some years ago."
The woman froze. Slowly, she raised her eyes. They were Harry's eyes for sure. Remus knew he'd found her. "How did you…" she began, but then stopped. "Remus?"
"Lily?" Remus asked again.
"You knew before you came in," Lily accused him.
Remus smiled and spread out his hands. "Guilty as charged. Lily, why have you been here?"
"You always did like cutting right to the chase, didn't you?"
"Lily, please. I've spent the past fifteen years believing you were dead. I reserve the right to cut to the chase."
Lily sighed. "Okay, okay. I…Remus, I had to get out. I had to get away. I couldn't live with myself."
"Why? What did you do? I'm the one who wasn't there for my best friends when they needed me."
"No…Remus, I couldn't save them."
Remus blinked. "Save who?"
"James and Harry. I remember clearly…when You-Know-Who caught up to me, I put Harry on the hall table behind me. When I came to afterwards-God knows how much later it was-Harry was gone. He must've been destroyed when the house blew up. And James…James was lying in the rubble…he was dead, Remus." Tears spilled out of her emerald eyes. "I couldn't save them, either of them. I wasn't strong enough…I let my baby die."
"Lily." Remus put one hand on each of her shoulders and stared intently into her eyes. "You haven't been in contact with anyone from our world since then, have you?"
"N-no, of course not. Why?"
Remus hesitated. "This is going to be a shock. Lily, they're all right."
"What?"
"They're both alive-Harry's famous for it. Everyone knew he'd survived, but we were all sure you and James were dead. Dumbledore had these instruments tracking you, he only found out you two were alive a couple days ago-too much interference from the other instruments."
Lily looked up, her mouth slightly open. "Harry…and James…are alive?"
"Yes."
"And everyone thought I was dead?"
"Yes."
Lily leapt up. "I have to see them!" she practically shrieked. "I have to apologise…I have to tell them…"
"Lily, calm down," Remus said, standing up himself. "Please. We have to take this slowly. James is on his way here-he's been in America, but he'll be here soon-I'll contact him when he gets here. And Harry…God, Lily, Harry's convinced you were dead. He's lived through hell the last few years. A shock this big-you two turning up out of the blue-could kill him. Let me break it to him slowly, okay? I'll keep you updated regularly. And I promise, the minute you can see him-or James-I'll let you know."
Lily took several deep, calming breaths. "Okay," she said finally. "Keep me posted."