Chapter Text
"Take it" her voice shattered in her throat. "Please, it must be hidden"
He reached for the book with trembling hands; the last thing he wished to hold onto, the curse that had brought upon them the agony they were about to face. The engraving dug into the leather, like a dreadful burn that filled with water from the pouring rain above them. He wanted nothing else than to eliminate it before their very eyes, but he had made a promise to his friends, one he had no intentions of ever breaking. Remus placed a soft hand above his. Underneath the dark of his hood beamed a crooked smile that Sirius couldn't refuse to return.
"We'll make sure it stays gone," Remus said as he faced their friend again. The buried anguish in his eyes was unmistakable, and Sirius recognized it every time Remus looked over her and the child they had pledged to protect within her.
"Are we certain this is the best path to take?" James mumbled. The rain had soaked his circular glasses, and as he removed them, a scarlet puff from his tears swelled beneath his eyes. He'd never agreed to the plan, and he didn't want to admit that it had to be done.
"They'll kill her James. They’ll find it" warned Lily. "We have to"
"D'you...d'you reckon they might find us here?" their friend implored.
The house shone warmly behind them there it stood in the little village of Haywards Heath. Inside waited a solely different life for her, one without any pain and suffering - a somewhat of ordinary life where she could raise her child with the Muggle she had fallen so in love with. In these times that they were all facing, it sounded like the perfect fairytale, to be able to live a life without any concern. However, she wanted nothing else than to stay with her friends and battle the evil with them, but she knew it had to be done - not for the sake of herself and her family, but the Wizarding World. The key had to be hidden, her legacy had to be long forgotten.
"No. Evan and Bellatrix thinks you're dead. They won't find you here under the new identity. You'll just be another ordinary witch hiding her powers from her Muggle husband until the time is right to reveal them" told Lily.
"That's quite clever really" she let out a chuckle.
"When will you tell him?" Asked Peter.
"If the time comes that she gets her letter. That's when I'll tell them. That's the right time" she told and laid a hand over her stomach. "Will I remember Hogwarts?" she asked Lily.
Lily nodded her head. "I promise it will stay exactly the wonderful place that it is, in your memories. However, the False Memory charm wiill make you remember the events differently. Other friends, another house. You left after Hogwarts and became a part of the Muggle world, because of love. You will remember fully the story we created"
"Did you think of a name for yourself yet?" questioned James.
"Alhena," told Sirius briefly. "I think it fits nicely"
She didn't really have to think about it for too long, as it did indeed suit her perfectly. "Yes, Alhena Pearse it is," she told them. Remus squeezed Sirius hand in triumph, as they had both been up the entire night before to come up with it.
"Did we have a plan for Harold?" Remus inquired as Harold suddenly stepped into the rain from the house.
"I won't remember either," Harol told swiftly as he approached them. "It's safe...innit? For, someone like me?" he asked Lily.
"Yes. Nothing else than the memories of your meeting will be changed. You won't know her as a witch, but your love for each other will remain the same that it has always been" told Lily.
"Will you do it?" asked Alhena as Lily seized her hand.
Lily couldn't hold back her tears anymore as they rolled down her cheeks. "Oh certainly," Lily told her. "I can't believe this is actually goodbye"
"It won't be goodbye forever," James said as he grasped Lily's hand in his.
"When it's all over, we'll find each other again," Remus replied, putting his hand on James' shoulder and Sirius in his.
"We've always done it. For godsakes, we're the bloody Marauders. They've never been able to separate us, and they won't be able to do it now! "Sirius exclaimed, eliciting a chorus of gleeful laughter over their mournful expressions.
She couldn't believe she was going to forget them. That all of their memories together would vanish into a void that could only be restored by great magic again. She would remember Hogwarts, but she wouldn't remember when she first met them in the middle courtyard after the dreadful History of Magic lesson. When they had first gotten detention together for trespassing in the Forbidden Forest because all they could think about was what laid beyond it - it had to be explored.
She wouldn't remember when James first asked Lily on their date, when the colours changed on the Whomping Willow or when James, Sirius and Peter had finally managed to achieve their Animagus forms to help Remus during his transformations, in what then became the Shrieking Shack. The bond they had together, the friendship they had grown during those magically years at Hogwarts pulling pranks and mischief in the hall, the creations of the Map, everything, would be lost in that void.
However, she remained hopeful. In the depths of her heart, she knew she would see them again, no matter where, no matter how, she would be with her friends.