The Truth Behind the Veil ✔️

The First Attacks

Letters and Daily Prophets thudded onto the tables in the Great Hall accompanied by owl feather confetti. A shocked hiss sound came from the right where Remus Lupin had opened the paper. His brows were knitted together studying the front page.

"Blimey..." James breathed, reading over the taller boy's shoulder and glancing apprehensively down the table.

The chatter had quieted, many eyes boring into the sea of red and gold with interest and pity.

A chair scraped harshly against the wooden flooring, surely leaving a scratch in its place as a girl stood, hands shaking, Prophet clutched in her grasp as she stumbled blindly out of the Hall.

"What happened?" whispered Fawn, peering wide-eyed where the girl had just been seated. Remus slid the paper across the table, the headline catching her attention instantly.

ATTACK AT FAIR NOVEMBER 21st, 1976. THREE KILLED, TEN INJURED.

There was an attack at a Muggle fair yesterday, Sunday November 21st at 7:00pm. It has been covered up by a bomb threat though wizards should be wary of Lord Voldemort's uprising.

The Muggles who were the fatalities of this attack were; a married couple, Richard & Linda Evans parents of current sixth year Gryffindor student; Lily Evans, and Egbert Jones; Father of sixth year Hufflepuff; Hestia Jones.

Please give privacy to the families and students who are grieving in this moment of despair. The Ministry is working hard to combat these issues. Those who have been injured are at St. Mungo's and have requested to remain anonymous as of current...

Fawn felt chills crawl down her spine. She hadn't known when Lily's parents were killed, there was nothing that could have been done and yet she felt a fault. The Veil had sent her back in time to save people not to sit by idly and watch as had previously been assumed.

Lily Evans was an orphan now.

"The Ministry isn't gonna do shit," muttered Lupin.

Fawn could help but agree, maybe things weren't as bad as they had been in her time but the Ministry couldn't have been any less corrupt.

"Poor Lily..." James said, staring at the door, "I wish there was something we could do."

Lily didn't leave school as was expected. Instead she stayed in her room for the next few days, missing classes and drowning silently in her sorrow.

Fawn, Marlene and Alice tried desperately to help but she would have none of it. Many urged her to go home, to attend the funeral but they'd only be met by a fervent head shake and an ice cold glare if pushed further.

She didn't want to go home, she knew Petunia would blame her for their parents' deaths and besides, Petunia was the only family she had left. There was nothing worth going home for.

The red-head returned to class on Wednesday, strolling into Transfiguration five minutes late, hair unbrushed, slamming her bag lazily by her seat. The lesson passed by, Lily sat, head on her arms, notes untouched for the entirety of the hour. No one spoke a word. This behavior was the complete opposite of the Gryffindor they'd grown to know, they had no idea what the next step should be to help.

"Hey Evans..." James was the only one to attempt to cheer up the red-head after a week of nothing.

  "Potter," she greeted monotonously, not even sparing him a glance and she walked past.

  "How are you feeling?"

  "Peachy."

He scratched his neck. "I'm sorry about your parents."

   She huffed though the entire situation lacked humor. "Yeah, you and the rest of the school."

Lily's arm was grabbed gently forcing her to turn and face the taller Gryffindor. "Look, I've never dealt with grief, at least not really—my Great-Aunt died when I was ten but I don't really remember—Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you. I may not be able to completely empathize with your situation but I've been told I'm a good listener so if you ever need a pair of ears, I'm all ears." It was a pathetic excuse for a joke yet caused Lily's lips to twitch the slightest bit.

"Thanks Potter," she said softly. "I've got to get to class." He nodded, letting her arm fall away waving awkwardly as she left.

The war was real now. This had been the first attack that had directly affected a Hogwarts student and caused the castle to dim. Talk of Quidditch and parties no longer mattered, instead conversations filled with questions of what if's, what if they were next?

A Ravenclaw girl, near tears, whispered to a friend that she was Muggleborn, what if her family was next? Dirk Cresswell, a Muggleborn Hufflepuff boy in the year below, left school for a week to check on his own parents and siblings. Dorcas Meadows missed the next two Quidditch practices due to multiple panic attacks.

Hogwarts was falling apart.

Something needed to change, someone had to defeat Voldemort. Fawn knew this was why The Veil had sent her, this was a mission only she could complete. The question was; how on earth does a kid go about destroying a fifty year old wizard tyrant?

*****

As December arrived, Lily improved slightly. She had taken up James' offer by some miracle, and seemed to have gotten some closure from the many late night cries she spent against the boy's shoulder. Note taking resumed, and she was speaking in full sentences again but her eyes were shadowed with pain and her half-hearted smiles barely even left a crease. Her shoulders sagged, her posture suffering under the weight of grief but she was a Gryffindor at heart; loss of family or not she had responsibilities and was determined to carry them out whatever the cost.

"Fucking Werewolves!"

Everyone's heads snapped in the direction of the Gryffindor table on December 7th to see Marlene McKinnon, face scarlet with rage, had slammed The Prophet onto the table, causing a goblet to spill from the sheer force of her white-nuckled fist.

Remus paled as he stared gobsmacked at the girl, heart hammering as he heard her fury towards his kind. Of course, he hated the wolves too, especially Greyback, but had not been expecting such an outburst at seven in the morning.

He had read The Prophet as he always did, so maybe he should have anticipated this.

There had been another attack, a Werewolf attack, the previous night in which West McKinnon—Marlene McKinnon's older brother and former Seeker—had been victim. Luckily the attack hadn't been fatal, though it was clear the elder McKinnon would be turned.

Lily hurried after Marlene leaving Alice and Fawn to stare in shock at the gruesome headline.

Alice bit her lip. "Poor West," she breathed, "he didn't deserve this."

  "No one does," Fawn agreed, glancing at Lupin who quickly looked away with shame as her gaze caught his.

The boys were whispering to one another with haste clearly trying to protect their moon illness afflicted friend.

Again, nothing could be done, there wasn't a handbook for these things. The only part Fawn could hope to change would be Halloween 1981, which was still years away. Everything else was completely out of her control.