A Dance Through Thyme (Harry Potter)

Die Mission Part 5

Part 5: The Diary – Lily and Marlene

Hermione had begged, pleaded and beseeched Lily to reconsider. She had only lost her baby in December, and it was now only the end of January. It was hardly enough time to recover, either physically or mentally.

But Lily had seemed to do the unthinkable and take Hermione’s words to heart.

‘We need to do this for her,’ Lily would keep repeating, in reference to Niamh. “We need to make this a better world. We owe it to her.”

That was how she and Marlene had ended up planning to break into Malfoy Manor.

Hermione seemed to know Malfoy Manor enough to be able to tell them that there was a cellar underneath the floor of the drawing room. The manor itself was guarded by a heavy amount of magic, but the cellar itself sounded impenetrable when Hermione was describing it to them. There would be a diary in this cellar, placed there by the orders of Lord Voldemort. It was this diary that they needed to retrieve without being caught.

The pair had been practising curses and counter-curses for the best part of a month. Hermione had put them through a rigorous training session using all she knew, but the unforgivable curses. She knew that there was every chance that they would be used in the event that the young women were caught, but she didn’t have the heart to employ them now. Lily was far too fragile for that, and the effort may have killed her before the mission had even begun.

In their previous meeting, Hermione had pulled them to one side, and spoken to them swiftly. Giving them their final instructions she bestowed each of them with a hug.

“They will not be expecting any of us to go near the place, let alone look for the diary. It may not be that heavily protected as yet. If something goes wrong, you need find a way to let me know as soon as possible. We can send back-up for the back-up you will already have.”

The women nodded at her, not sure that even they fully understood the pressure they were placing themselves under.

Just as Hermione was about to leave them, she remembered the most crucial element to the whole plan. She pressed a piece of parchment into Marlene’s visibly shaking hand.

“Here is the search warrant that Amelia managed to get for you. She sent a letter from the ministry telling Mr Malfoy to expect you. His son Lucius will no doubt be there as well, so be on your guard. He will try to pull the wool over your eyes, and lead you away. As far as he is concerned, no one but the Malfoy family are aware of the cellar, so he will not expect you to go down there. Your guards from the Ministry will be waiting there for you, and they will keep the family distracted to give you enough time to get down into the cellar and retrieve the diary. You need to escape with it as soon as you get it. They must not know that you have it.”

Lily and Marlene nodded. Both girls had naturally pale skin, but now it was more of a ghostly white colour instead of cream mixed with freckles. Lily’s red hair was swept up away from her face, creating a vivid contrast to Marlene’s black curls.

“Rest up,” said Hermione, placing one hand on each of their shoulders. “You’ve got a big day ahead of you.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Lily’s alarm clock pierced through the darkness. It was the day of their mission.

James had already risen and left with Hermione. They were already off towards Hogwarts, needing to be there as soon as the sun was up.

Sending a silent prayer of good luck to them both, Lily crawled out of bed and began to prepare herself for the day ahead. Dressing warmly, she tucked her wand into a pocket hidden into the sleeve of her coat.

Even though she knew she would need to keep her energy levels up throughout the day, Lily could not stomach more than just a few bites of toast. A cup of hot tea was slightly more soothing, but the mug was still left half-empty.

A knock at the door revealed Marlene. Her black curls were tied to the back of her head with a blue ribbon, a colour which was as similarly striking as the blue of her eyes.

“Ready?” she said, her voice steady, but her hands shaking slightly by her sides. In the silence of the early morning, Lily could hear the gentle crinkling of the search warrant in Marlene’s hands as she passed it from hand to hand in her apprehension.

“Let’s go,” replied Lily while she still had the nerve to do so.

Grasping the warrant tightly in one hand, and Lily’s hand in her other, the pair walked out past the protective enchantments of the house. Even though the village of Godric’s Hollow was mostly magical, it was an act of courtesy to the few muggles in the area to find a deserted alleyway to apparate in.

Twisting themselves on the spot, the pair of women soon emerged from the crushing darkness to find themselves in a different deserted laneway. Lily pulled her wand from her sleeve, and muttered a spell quietly under her breath.

The silver doe that emerged from her wand took the message she spoke to it, and went forward. Lily and Marlene stayed hidden in the alleyway, watching as their breaths emerged from their mouths in smoky spirals.

It was several minutes before another patronus made its way towards them.

Their guards were already here, and waiting in their position courtesy of Dumbledore and Hermione’s previous arrangements. Lily and Marlene stepped forward cautiously, making their way through the streets at a brisk pace until they came to a wide driveway.

Summoning their team with a wave of their hands, Lily and Marlene crept along the gravel of the driveway, wincing with the noise that every step made. Through the diamond windows at the front of the house Marlene could see thick, emerald-green drapes obscuring any outside view, and she let out a sigh of relief.

The front door was black, and this only exacerbated the ominous feeling that it exuded. The team gathered around the young woman, wands held ready at their sides should any of the occupants of the Manor decide to put up a fight.

Marlene and Lily’s back up comprised of several members of the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore had done some more recruiting over the Christmas break, and neither girl knew all of the members, however the familiar faces of Arthur Weasley, Fabian and Gideon Prewett peeked out, each masked in a layer of seriousness and concentration.

“Do you want to do it, or shall I?” whispered Marlene to Lily.

“I’ll do it,” Lily replied, reaching out with one hand to grasp the silver serpent knocker. Giving it two sharp raps against the dense wood, they stood back and waited.

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