Marauders in Time

Diversion

"97. Remember the number 97. Because it's very important for when you get there. There, you will learn everything you need to know."

Those words were on replay in Lily's head as she exited Snape's office and walked back to her dorm.

Why did that number matter so much? And why would she get answers only from the Ministry itself? Why couldn't Snape tell her himself? It just keeps getting more and more confusing.

"Lil-I mean Ruby!" Hermione called for her attention once she had turned into an empty corridor.

Spinning around, Lily saw Hermione and Ginny running towards her.

"What's wrong?" She asked them.

"Oh well Snape called you to his office. I only assumed it was something to do with your fake identity. He never calls people to his office willingly unless it's about detention."

"Oh yeah...he basically figured it out. I told him what happened and that's it."

Hermione frowned, "Nothing else?"

"Did you expect anything else?"

"No! No no I just thought...oh it's alright don't worry about it. Listen, about Harry. When are you gonna tell him?"

Lily sighed, "I don't know. I'll leave it up to James."

Ginny looked like she wanted to say something to Hermione and Lily wanted to get out of there. She had business to attend to. But before anyone could do or say anything, there was a loud bang nearby. A bunch of screams and lot of crashes. Hermione and Lily started to run to where the sound came from, but Ginny held Hermione back.

"I don't think she knows yet," Ginny whispered. "That she is his mother. Don't tell her."

Understanding immediately, she nodded and followed Lily. They rounded a corner and were facing a crowd, where right in the centre, Umbridge looked triumphant with Filch by her side. To their horror, the girls saw that the twins were standing there, seeming defeated.

Umbridge seemed like she was waiting for this moment for a long time. The creepy sadistic smile spread across her face. And Filch was holding what looked like a document, with a whip in the other hand. It didn't look good. But for some reason, Fred started to smirk.

"You know what George?" He said to his twin brother rather loudly. "I think we are done with academics."

"Yeah it looks like our future lies somewhere else," George agreed, raising his wand along with Fred and summoning their brooms.

In an instant, they came flying towards them, and they leaped up onto it and hovered over the massive crowd. With one dirty look at Umbridge, Fred said, "We won't be seeing you anytime soon."

And with that, they zoomed out of the room to tremendous applause. Everyone had always admired the Weasley twins. And they had just exited in the most fashionable and dramatic way. Lily, however, didn't stick around for long. The moment she saw Fred and George go through the massive Hogwarts entrance doors, she realized it was her chance and so she sprinted the opposite direction. She knew for a fact that Umbridge still had Harry's broomstick in her office. And with her and Filch out and in shock, this was her chance to go to the Ministry and find answers.

Opening Umbridge's office, she saw Harry's very stylistic broomstick locked to a wall. Deciding to try the twins' tactic, she used the summoning charm to get the broom; it instantly flew into her outstretched arm. She ran out of the office and into a mini courtyard, where there was barely anyone seeing as everyone was still ogling the twins' departure. With one last glance back, Lily took a deep breath and kicked off, the broom taking her up in the air at a tremendous speed.

Was this the right idea, Lily thought. How would she know that she would get back safe? And how trustful was Snape's information? Would she really find out everything she wanted to know about herself? Lily didn't know where this self-confidence came from. Only James did something like this. But it was the way Snape refused to tell her anything and how Hermione reacted when she looked into her eyes to confirm its her. There was definitely something about her that made the others recognise her instantly. It wasn't a matter of desire or patience. She needed to know.

**

"Where is Lily?" James asked Sirius once everyone had split from the crowd.

It took a while for the crowd to disperse, seeing as everyone loved seeing the shocked defeated look on Umbridge's face. Even the teachers took their time out of their classes to watch the twins fly out. It truly was remarkable.

"I have no idea mate," Sirius replied.

James looked around. He saw Remus talking to Peter and Neville standing by the side, not really doing anything. There was something off about everything. Where was Harry? Where were Ron and Hermione? James always felt that those three were a power trio, never doing anything without the other two. So with all three of them missing, it certainly did look fishy. Plus, Harry had been acting strange, like really strange, since his return from Snape's office. At least, that's what Ron said he was.

"Oi Neville!" James called out to him, making him jump out of fright. "Hey do you know where Harry, Ron and Hermione went?"

"I saw Harry going that way," he pointed to the left of him. "Why? Is he in trouble?"

"Yes he is," Remus said from behind them. "That's Umbridge's office at the end."

Without a second thought, Neville and the Marauders sprinted to the door of her office. It was slightly ajar. And just as they had gotten close, someone exited it.

Filch.

"Dolores! We have more! We ha-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because Sirius had jinxed him, causing him to double over. There were howls of anger from behind them. James didn't turn around to see what it was. Instead, he ran towards the door and inside. There were more screams of agony from behind him but James didn't care. If Harry had gone inside, and he probably did, then there was no doubt there was a deep reason behind it. And James had to know what it was.

He upon entry, he found Harry, Ron and Hermione. But he also saw Umbridge standing over Harry, giving James one quick glare as he entered. Before James could say anything or raise his wand, someone tackled him from behind and seized his wand.

Malfoy.

They were screwed.