"What would you say if we went to the zoo today?" she asked, while adding some maple syrup on his pancakes.
"The zoo?"
"Yes. The zoo in the morning, the aquatic park in the afternoon, and cinema for the evening. All activities that you'll soon miss dearly."
"Can't you bring me to Diagon Alley instead?"
"No, Harry. Diagon Alley is for tomorrow. We will spend the entire day looking for your books and everything you need for Hogwarts. Running in the streets to complete our purchases by the end of the day is not a good way to celebrate a birthday. And this is your birthday today."
"Wrong, Mom. My birthday was last Tuesday."
"Yes, but your mother was working on that day, and she cannot take a leave only because her son is eleven. As important as he is." She ruffled his hair. She often did that. "Today is the day we celebrate your eleven years. Now eat everything you want and enjoy one of your last days in the world of Muggles."
The table was filled with pancakes, bacon, sausages, ham, eggs, toasts, fruits, small potatoes and everything you could think of for an anniversary. Every year, Lile did this for her son. Harry also did it for her own birthday. Once, she had surprised him at three o'clock in the morning, already preparing breakfast. This boy really filled her life with joyous moments. She watched him as he devoured his breakfast. It was the only day of the year when he could eat everything and anything he wanted.
And still he remained skinny and slim, as if he was famished. James was slim as well when he arrived at Hogwarts, but not to this point in her memory. Harry did sports, he was well nourished. Perhaps it was her overprotective nature. She sometimes worried too much about her son. All her friends agreed on this. But considering these friends were exclusively people who spent their life getting into, and looking for, trouble, she didn't rely too much on their advice.
At one point, Harry couldn't eat anymore. Lily quickly emptied the table, helped by magic. Lately, she used it more freely, despite the known risk that neighbors or even passers-by could surprise her. But she didn't care, or cared less. They were on August 4, and in less than a month, her son would climb into the Hogwarts Express and head to the school where he would spend the next seven years of his life, like she did so many years ago.
She would miss Harry. He was what kept her going on after James died. For ten years, her main reason to be was her son, and now he would be gone. She already felt that the year to come would be long without him. She wanted to enjoy the time she had left with him the most she could.
He came out of the bathroom, wearing a new T-shirt she bought him. This year, she had mixed magical and non-magical presents. She had bought him some sweets that could only be found in the world of wizards. She knew he brought a few with him in the bathroom to try them, even though he thought she didn't notice. But she wouldn't blame him, not today. This was his day, and she wouldn't ruin it for something so insignificant.
Once they had everything prepared for the day, they left in the car. Their first stop was the zoo of the town. No dragon, no gnomes, no Cornish pixies. Only normal animals like the Muggles knew them. Still, there were more than enough fascinating things to occupy their morning.
In the first section they visited, a huge gorilla occupied the place of honor.
"Is that me, or he has kind of a familiar look with my cousin Dudley?"
"Harry, don't say things like that," she scolded him, before adding "He's far more alike your uncle Vernon."
They both burst into laughs. Lily refrained when it came to her sister, but she could endure some jokes about her brother-in-law and her nephew. She had left a message on Petunia's answering machine a few days ago, hoping she could arrange something of a meeting between all of them before Harry would leave, but her sister had not answered yet. She thought of the possibility to invite them today, but considering how their last family meetings went, she thought it preferable to ensure Harry's birthday would not be filled with drama.
The gorilla was only one of the many animals displayed at the zoo. There were lions, tigers, hyenas, alligators, but also penguins, fishes, medusas, sharks, birds, parrots, and many more. Another highlight was a boa constrictor from Brazil, sleeping when they arrived close to it. Harry was fascinated by this one.
"He's so large. He could probably occupy our whole balcony."
"Let's not exaggerate, Harry. It's a snake, nothing more."
She read the information on that species of snakes. Apparently, it came from Brazil, but this one was bred in the zoo. This snake was carnivorous, and hunted mostly at night, targeting birds and small mammals to strangle them. Dangerous animals were definitely not a monopoly of the magical world.
"Let's see something else," she said, turning her heels to wards some red parrot.
"Wait! Did you hear?"
"Did I hear what?" Harry was staring at the snake, who had opened his eyes.
"Nothing, Mom. Excuse me, I'd like to stay with the snake a little longer."
Lile shrugged. "Okay. I won't be far."
She went to look closely to the parrots. Their colors reminded her of a vase Petunia sent her many years ago. That was a horrible vase, and she no longer had it. Not by her own fault though. Harry had smashed it while flying on the toy broomstick he received when he was one-year-old. That was before...
She shook her head, but she couldn't detach her eyes from the parrot. And her mind kept returning to that horrible vase. Petunia had probably sent it to her because it was ugly. She had no complaints when it was broken but... It was still one of the last presents she ever received from her sister.
The parrot was croaking. As strange as it may sound, she found some melody to this chanting. It wasn't as melodious as those of owls, but still. All animals made their own sounds in their own way, magic or not.
"HEY, LOOK! LOOK WHAT THE SNAKE IS DOING! IT'S INCREDIBLE!"
Lily turned to the commotion she just heard, just in time to see Harry being pushed to the floor by a group of half a dozen boys who ran to the snake.
Then all happened very quickly. The glass containing the boa disappeared, and before Lily could react, the large animal was out. The boys who had just pushed Harry to look at the creature now ran away, screaming, and their panic spread to other people around as they saw the huge snake get out of his cage.
Lily's heart stopped. Harry had remained on the floor while the snake left his tank. Lily grabbed her wand inside her jacket, hoping the boa would get past Harry. But he then turned his head towards her son. Her wand was out.
"You're welcome."
The words Harry said shocked her. She didn't move as the boa continued his route, ignoring both Lily and Harry. She watched the huge creature get out. Only after he had left the room did she realize her wand was still off and she hid it back. She ran to her son.
"Harry, are you alright?"
"Yes, Mom." He stood up with her help and looked at the empty tank.
"Where's the glass?"
"I think it would be better if we left," she said, gripping his arm and forcing him to follow her.
Back in the car, when the doors were closed, she looked straight at him.
"Harry, I saw what happened. You made the glass disappear."
"It was an accident. I didn't do it on purpose," he swore.
« I know. But you must be more careful. I'm not angry, my dear. I'm just… I'm just trying to warn you. It's dangerous to use magic before Muggles. They could discover who we are. »
« I know. I'm sorry, » Harry replied, exasperated.
She knew it wasn't totally fair. After all, she made the same kind of mistakes in her childhood. Petunia's plate had once flew into her face, covering her sister of spaghettis while they bickered during dinner. There was also that time at school when she was only ten, when she kicked a ball so hard at a boy who just mocked her red hair that he fell face first on the asphalt of the playground and needed stitches. She told Harry to get a hold of his emotions, but this was far easier to say than to do, especially at his age.
"Look, I know you didn't want this to happen. Let's forget about this accident. We're going to eat, and then we go to the water park."
The rest of the day went mostly uneventful. The atmosphere got better during lunch when they ate hamburgers and fries. She and Harry had a lot of fun at the aquatic park. They tried many attractions, and Harry spent the end of the afternoon in the wave pool. Lily remained at good distance, watching him from a folding chair with sunglasses. If her wizard friends saw her in this moment, wearing a swimsuit, with sunglasses and covered from head to toe with solar cream... She really looked like a normal woman who just brought her son to a water park, not a witch who survived the most powerful dark mage of the time.
They ate a pizza afterward before they went to cinema. At the end of the day, they were both exhausted. On their way back home, Harry was almost sleeping in the car. Lily had the same wish as he did: go back home and fall asleep. In this very moment, she wanted to postpone their day in Diagon Alley. But she had promised Harry to bring him there tomorrow, and she made him wait long enough to see the magic world.
"So, did you love your day, Harry?"
"Yes," he replied on a tired voice.
"What did you like the most?" she asked as she made a turn to the right.
He didn't answer immediately. "The snake. At the zoo."
Lily allowed a small laugh to leave her lips. "It is true that... It was kind of funny, to see all these people running away from this boa. The worst is that he was inoffensive for humans. In some way, there was more fear than harm done."
"Yeah," Harry replied with a distant voice. He remained silent for some time before he continued. "I think he understood me."
"What? Who?"
"The boa. The snake."
This caught Lily's attention. "What do you mean?"
"I was... talking to him, and he seemed to understand what I said. I heard him say thanks when he quit his tank."
Her son had his eyes closed, so he couldn't see the dumbfounded look on his mother's face. "Are you sure?"
Harry made a sound while nodding from the head.
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed your day," she said, just as she grew worried.
They arrived at their apartment not long after, and Lily had to shake Harry so he would leave the car. Her son was about to fall asleep.
He fell to his bed without changing his clothes and was lost to sleep immediately. Lily didn't insist that he put his pyjama. After all, they would need to leave early tomorrow morning. She cautiously removed his glasses he fell asleep with and put them slowly next to his alarm clock to not make any sound. Then she tucked his bed, removing the book he had left in last night, making sure he was covered with blankets and his head was on his pillow.
Lily looked at her son, sleeping peacefully. In this instant, he reminded her of how he was sleeping in his cot after the tragedy that killed his father. This was almost ten years ago, and she still saw him as that baby sometimes, unaware of the danger of the world. She kissed him on the front and left the room after casting one last glance to make sure he was sleeping.
Only a few minutes ago, Lily would have given anything for a good night of sleep. But now, she was well awaken, and worry and doubt were beginning to eat at her mind and heart. She prepared a tisane and drank it in silence, slowly. She stirred the content as much as she stirred the conflicting thoughts going through her mind. Did she worry for nothing? But what if that was true?
The tisane didn't bring her any clarity, and it didn't appease her either. She knew only one thing that could. Only one person that could provide her some answers. With a new determination, Lily went to her bedroom and opened a secret compartment in her desk with a spell. She seized the Deluminator inside, a gift Albus Dumbledore gave her many years ago. She quietly opened the door, just enough to slip outside the apartment, then activated the device. One by one, all lights on the street went out. Lily then came back inside, still careful to not make any noise, and grabbed a cloak hidden in another secret compartment in the hall, which she put on her shoulders. She then walked out again, locking the door behind her and casting a few spells around her apartment to make sure no one would enter or try to enter while she was away. And then, still careful to make sure no one saw or heard her, she Apparated.
Far away, on an isolated path of earth linking a castle to a small village, a lone figure appeared out of nowhere with a loud crack. The figure looked up at the tall towers she hadn't seen for years.
From the exterior, Hogwarts had not changed since the last time she came here. Even at night, the castle kept all his charm, his lights providing just enough luminosity for anyone to see its outline. The castle just looked the same as the day she gazed at it for the first time, back when she was a first year and she just discovered the world of wizards. It had been so long now, since the last time she came here. But she needed to talk to someone, and that person was there, she knew it.
"Lumos."
Her wand produced a light that helped to see ahead of her. Determined, she walked forward. It wasn't long before she arrived before the gates of the castle. They were closed, of course. It was the night, and in the middle of summer furthermore. There was no student at school, and most teachers were absent as well. But she knew he was there. Or was he?
Just when she doubted he would be there and before she could signal her presence, a rattle indicated that the gates were unlocked. They opened. It wasn't the first time she witnessed things that would have been unexplainable at Hogwarts. She was used to it, even after years of absence. She resumed her way forward, but she had barely crossed the castle's limits that a voice she would recognize among all came from her left.
"I was hoping you would come, Lily Evans."
She turned to face the man who addressed her. He was sitting on a stone bench nearby but had stood up the moment he spoke. Even in darkness, his silvery hair and glasses glittered under her wand's light. He smiled kindly at her.
"How long has it been since the last time we met? Three years? Maybe four?" he asked.
"You're the one who suggested I should stay away, and I did," she replied, not answering his question.
"Well, in any case, it is a pleasure to see you again."
She smiled in return. "Yes, it's good to be back."
"But..." Albus Dumbledore's smile became strained. "Something's telling me that this is not to see your old teacher that you came. I can sense something is troubling you."
"Yes."
"And I suppose this has something to do with Harry."
Again, Albus Dumbledore gave the impression that he could read you like a book. Lily decided she would go straight to the point.
"I need your help, Professor."
"I'm all ears. But let's walk while we talk. I always take a stroll around the castle in the evening. At least, during summer. I'm far too occupied the rest of the year."
He placed a comforting hand on her back and led her along the path he took. She followed him. They walked side by side for a moment, without saying a word. After a moment, Lily supposed Dumbledore was waiting for her to talk.
"It's about Harry."
"As I suspected. What can I do for your son?"
"I just... I just need your advice. Or your opinion. It was his birthday today."
"I thought he was born a July 31."
"Yes. But we celebrated it today. I was working last Tuesday."
"Ah, I see."
"Well, I brought him to the zoo this morning."
"Ah. It's a good idea. I visited one, a long time ago. These animals are wonders, although I felt a little sorry for the poor beasts being stuck into a cage."
"The thing is... There was an accident. A group of boys pushed Harry while he was looking at a snake, and the glass that kept the animal in his tank just vanished."
"Ah. The powers of the young wizards. Far too many of us cannot control these powers at a young age. Was anyone hurt?"
"No. I don't think the snake was venomous. The guardians of the zoo controlled it quite quickly."
"More fear than harm done then. Did anyone notice it was Harry who made the glass disappear? Or did anyone believe it?"
"No, I don't think so. I took my wand out, but everyone was too occupied to run away to notice me. I didn't have to use it in the end."
"Well, all seem to have gone well, considering everything."
He said nothing more. Lily felt he was waiting for her to tell the real reason why she came. "Harry spoke to the serpent." This caused Albus Dumbledore to stop in his track. "He spoke with the serpent."
The headmaster of Hogwarts looked at her, intrigued. "Are you sure about this?"
"Harry told me. He spent several minutes just looking at the animal. And when the boa escaped, it turned towards Harry, and Harry said you're welcome."
Dumbledore looked just as intrigued, and troubled too. He made a few steps to stand in front of Lily, looking at his boots, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"I don't understand," Lily continued. "No one in James' family used to talk Parseltongue. And I know for a certainty there's no one in mine who could."
"This might have nothing to do with family, Lily."
"Then... I don't understand. How can this be true? How can this happen?"
Dumbledore raised an appeasing hand and looked back at her. "Did you hear Harry speak Parseltongue?"
"No. I was looking at other animals, and many of them were making a lot of noise. I wasn't there when it happened. I left him maybe two minutes with that boa."
Dumbledore nodded. He seemed focused, and away at the same time. "And that boa... When Harry said you're welcome, he was speaking normally? You understood him?"
"Yes." Lily had just realized it. Harry had spoken very normally, in English. No whistling, no spit that was the mark of Parseltongue.
"Well, did Harry tell you what he talked about with the snake?"
"No. He told me when we were going home. He was too tired. He barely said a few words."
Dumbledore nodded again. "Well, then, maybe it was just his imagination, Lily. Maybe the boa looked at him and Harry got the impression he was responding to his voice. Furthermore, if there was a glass between them, I'm not sure if either Harry or the snake would have understood each other, even if they could."
Lily realized how stupid it seemed. She closed her eyes. What planet was she on? She had left her house with her son alone inside, travelled to Hogwarts, bothered the most powerful wizard in the world, and all that because Harry told her he spoke with a snake. She felt so ridiculous right now.
"Professor, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you with this."
"No, don't apologize, Lily. I understand. He's your son. With the past you both have, and less than a month before he comes to Hogwarts, this is normal for you to be worried about him."
She looked away, then stared back at Dumbledore. "Please promise me that you'll keep an eye on him while he's here, and that nothing will happen to him."
"You don't need to ask, Lily. I was already going to do just that. Harry will be safe here. You have my word."
"Thank you."
"I know this has not been easy. Leaving everything you knew, starting all over again from zero in the world of Muggles, as familiar as you are with it. It must have been hard."
"It was, by moments. But I had Harry. He was the only thing that stopped me from crumbling after..." She didn't finish the sentence, and Dumbledore didn't force her to. "You were right, when you said I had to take him away, bring him as far from our world as I could. When I finally did it, this made Harry's life, and mine, so much better."
After the fateful night when her husband was murdered, Dumbledore advised her to take Harry away from the world of wizards. Her son was going to be famous. He already was back then. He advised her to live among the Muggles, far away from the attention he would get. First, Lily had refused. She was a witch, her husband was a wizard, and Harry was a wizard as well. He would go to Hogwarts one day. She always wanted to remain in contact with the world of Muggles, even after her relationship with Petunia soured. She wanted Harry to be in contact with that world too, but not to the cost of living outside the magical world. So after James' death, she moved to another community of wizards, hoping to take care of her son and let him grow in the world of magic. But it turned out Dumbledore was right.
For two years, Lily tried to raise a son among their people. But everyone soon learned where Harry Potter and his mother lived. Journalists and authors who wanted to write about them, and all sorts of people who just hoped to get a glimpse of Harry, stalked them at all hours of day, every day of the week. Their friends too were stalked, and Lily couldn't go anywhere without people wanting to take a photo of her, or shake her hand, or ask any kind of favor. This was too much to assume. Harry was growing, reaching three years of age, and she couldn't see a way she could provide him with a happy childhood in these circumstances. So she followed the advice Dumbledore gave her years before, and she moved among the Muggles.
After so many years among the wizards, without any diploma or formation, she took the first job she could find. Times were difficult in the beginning. Sirius and Remus helped her, and so did Dumbledore, although they couldn't be as present as they wanted. The person who truly helped was the last she expected: her sister. Learning Lily had moved at Northampton, she came to help her settle. She even helped Lily find the apartment where she lived today, and gave her money in the early times. She did this behind the back of her husband. Vernon Dursley never knew his wife helped her sister. With time, however, as Lily settled and her life got better, Petunia's visits became rare, until they barely saw each other. She once told Lily that she suggested to Vernon that they try to see each other again. Her husband especially despised James, but the fact he was dead didn't seem to make him better disposed towards Lily and her son. With time, they resumed their former relationship, seeing each other maybe once every year and sending gifts and cards for Christmas, Easter and their respective birthdays.
"I know it was a huge sacrifice to make, Lily. It wasn't easy to stay in our world, and it probably wasn't any easier to leave it. Remus and Sirius kept me informed on you and Harry. I was relieved when they told me how happy you were with your son," Dumbledore confided. "And now, he's about to leave," he added.
"Yes. I'm worried, it's true. I don't know what to do."
"You should start thinking about yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"Lily, you spent the last ten years of your life only thinking about your son, taking care of him. It is admirable, but you must also think about yourself. What are you going to do once he will be at Hogwarts? Will you continue to live among the Muggles, always afraid that they might discover your powers? I know you're still using magic. Aren't you afraid that one day someone will inadvertently see you using it, despite all your precautions? And do you really want to keep working as a secretary for that idiot who is your boss?"
She shouldn't be surprised that Dumbledore knew so much about her life. But what he said was true. She had been so focused on raising Harry and giving him the best childhood she could that she almost never thought about what she would do once he would integrate Hogwarts. She admitted so to the headmaster.
"Then you should start to figure out what you are going to do. Without Harry, what will you do with your life?"
She sighed. "I'll have to think about it."
"Yes, you must." Dumbledore looked at his watch. "I'm afraid this stroll has come to an end. I'll accompany you back to the gates."
This didn't take much time. Within a minute, Lily was back outside the precinct of the school.
"Treasure these moments you have with your son, Lily, and make sure Harry enjoys them. He will need them when he'll be here."
"Take care of him when he'll arrive, please."
"You can rely on me. On all of us. All the teachers. We will make sure he has a good life at Hogwarts."
"Thank you. But please, keep Snape far from him."
Dumbledore had a sad expression. "Severus Snape teaches potions. I will not be able to stop him from teaching Harry."
Too bad. "I know. Just... make sure he doesn't harm him."
"Severus has his flaws, but he would never hurt Harry."
"Really? Like when he told Voldemort about this prophecy, and this led his master to become obsessed with killing my son?"
Lily had remained calm for most of the conversation, except for a short episode of small panic when she spoke about his supposed Parseltongue. But now that the subject of Snape was on the table, she wouldn't make any concession.
"Severus didn't know the prophecy concerned Harry..."
"But he knew it concerned a baby, and he knew that by reporting this to his master, he would sentence this baby to die." She approached Dumbledore and looked him straight in the eyes. Despite the old man's height, she stared at him with the all the fury she could muster. "I don't care what you think of him. I don't care if you say he's changed. I don't care if you've given him a second chance. I gave Snape more than enough second chances a long time ago, more than he deserved, and he wasted all of them. He chose to follow Voldemort. He didn't do it out of fear, or because Voldemort threatened the people he loved, not even out of cowardice. He did it for his self-interest, because he believed in what Voldemort was doing, and if he worked for you at some point, it was only because he wanted to have an emergency exit if his master came to be defeated. If Snape even lays a finger on Harry, I will come myself to Hogwarts and deal with him. I will not hesitate to kill him if necessary. You can tell him."
Dumbledore sustained her stare, a regretful look in his eyes. But when he replied, he was calm and his voice didn't betray any outrage. "I will give your message to Severus. I'm sure he will understand it. Don't forget, you've been friends a long time ago."
"It was a long time ago. And the Severus I knew is dead. He's been dead for a very long time. Nox."
The light from her wand extinguished itself, leaving them both in complete darkness. Lily Apparated back to Northampton and got back to her apartment. She reactivated the Deluminator, giving back the lights to their lamps, removed the protection spells she surrounded her apartment with, and brought back her magical objects in their hiding places. She respected Dumbledore, looked up to him, but one thing she would never understand was the trust he put in Snape. She stopped calling him, even thinking of him as Severus a long time ago, and this wasn't about to change. It would never change. She would never forgive him all the horrors he participated to, and especially not the murder of her husband.
She went to see her son. Through the gap of the door, she saw he was still sound asleep. He hadn't even noticed her absence. It was good. She wanted him to make good dreams, not nightmares. She cast one last long look to the son she would soon lose to Hogwarts, and went back to sleep in her own bedroom, now realizing to what extent she was exhausted. She went to bed, hoping to catch just enough sleep so that she wouldn't collapse in Diagon Alley tomorrow.