the_debt_of_time

"Dumbledore already knows," Mia interrupted her, knowing that Lily was taking a
risk by confessing that she had known about Snape's Advanced Potions book. "When he
first came to question us, Remus insisted that there was no way Alecto nor Amycus could
have invented it themselves. Sirius mentioned that Snape created Levicorpus and Langlock.
Last I heard, there was no proof."
"He has a book," Lily whispered.
"He'll have gotten rid of it. He's not stupid. The moment word reached him that
the Carrows had used his curse... There's nothing to be done now." She knew that Snape
did not join Dumbledore until after the prophecy, but she wondered if the headmaster was
now considering the potential threat or asset that he could be.
"Stay away from him, Lily." Mia looked up at her friend with pleading eyes. "I
honestly believe that one day Snape can come back from whatever it is that he's fallen into,
but you're not the one to save him. He has to save himself."
Lily let a few tears escape, but she made no noise as she looked back down at James.
"Did he really save Sirius?" Mia nodded in reply. "That was... very brave of him. Very
stupid," she said with a huff of annoyance, "but brave."
Mia smiled down at her sleeping brother. "Ever the gallant Gryffindor."
Lily sniffed, shaking her head and looking confused. "He was wandless. Had you
and Remus not been there, they would have killed him and then killed Sirius right after.
What was he thinking?"
"Love," Mia replied. "It's a powerful type of magic."
"Love isn't magic."
"It can be. I.. ." She hesitated as she felt something in the air, something magical
and moving, nudging and pushing at her somewhere in the back of her mind. Mia closed
her eyes as she almost immediately realised the prompting. "I read somewhere about how
love can be harnessed. Sacrificial love can protect others."
"Your brother tried to sacrifice himself?" Lily looked up, eyes wide in horror.
"No." Mia shook her head, worrying her thumb along the handle of her coffee cup.
"He was just trying to save Sirius. I don't even think he thought about it for a second.
Besides, it wouldn't have worked."
"Why not?"