"Everyone shut up!" I yelled, breathing deeply as I stood up slowly. The other three were shocked at me just talking and quietened down.

Sirius furrowed his brow slightly, "What?"

"I think I know where Dorcas is..." The words seemed to be struggling to come out, the whole weight of the situation finally bearing down on me, "She's at my Mum's."

"At your... mum's?" Sirius repeated slowly, "Care to elaborate a bit?"

"Dorcas is the spy," I said, which only increased the confusion from the three of them, "She's the one who's been leaking addresses and she... she has my hair and the address, she's going to hurt her to get to me - "

"Lily, I'm going to stop you right there," Marlene cut in, her eyes narrowed, "Dorcas isn't the spy - "

"Yes, she is! It all makes sense about the letter from Glenn - "

"She's not the spy," Marlene repeated, slowly, "She... she can't be. Lily, it's obvious what's really going on, Glenn is... Glenn is... it's not a healthy relationship and he has her - "

"We don't know that," Remus cut in.

"Well, where else would she be?" Marlene snapped, "Come on, we need to keep brainstorming, the longer we leave it, the worse it gets - "

"Please, listen to me, she's the spy!" I yelled, grabbing at Marlene's arm as she turned away from me, walking back towards the other two, "Marlene - "

"STOP saying that, okay? How can you even say that, she's your friend, okay? Dorcas is one of your best friends and she's been... she's been nothing but loyal to us, Glenn is the villain, blame Glenn. Didn't you see the handwriting? It was him, he was trying to isolate her, control her and we need to rescue her - "

"Marlene, please believe me, she's going to my Mum's now, I can feel it," I begged, pulling at her arms. Within seconds, Sirius ran over, pulling me off of Marlene and gently pushing me onto the bed. He knelt down, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Lily, please calm down - "

"Shut up, Sirius!"

"Lily, you're clearly very upset and hysterical," He turned around over his shoulder, "Remus, where did James say he was going because - "

"No, NO! Don't you dare, Sirius, stop this, I'm right on this," I began to fight back against him, trying to push him off which only made him push harder.

"Lily, please stop this, you have no proof - "

"You can hardly talk, you accused Marlene of being a spy with no proof," I spat, hitting him harder with my balled up fist, "We need to go to my Mum's please - "

"Lily, we're safe here - " Remus began but I cut in, sick of being interrupted and belittled by all of them in this moment.

"Shut up! We need to go there or she'll get hurt, please, let me go!" I began to scream, why couldn't they see that this was urgent?

"Dorcas is the spy, she's been warning us for months, Marlene, it all makes sense, she said she wasn't in the right - "

"Maybe because Glenn is manipulating her and controlling her, making her feel to blame when he hurts her, did you ever consider that?" Marlene yelled, "She needs help, not accusations!"

"I am trying to help by telling you where'd she'd be - "

"She's not at your Mum's house, Lily!" Marlene, for once, looked as if she'd completely lost it, "Lily, you're mental, we need to be serious here, please! Dorcas is in trouble - "

"I know, I agree with you!" I screamed back, trying with all my might to dislodge Sirius's grip, "Please let me go to her, she's there, I know it, I don't have time to explain but please, trust me!"

"No, we're not letting you go," Remus said, staying remarkably calm despite the panic that seemed to fill the room, seeping through the walls and filling every corner. It became to slowly eat away at me, visions flashing of my Mum being hurt and cursed by a girl I'd considered my friend. Dorcas was my friend but people changed in the war and I hated how loyalty had made Marlene blind to the truth. With all my might, I pushed at Sirius but he barely moved an inch which left me with no choice; I began to bite at him, scream at him, do everything I could to get away from him. It was like a primal part of me was unlocked by the pure desperation I was feeling which made me ignore the obvious solution.

This wasn't my house, this was a shoddy flat that Sirius and Remus used to have sex in. A shoddy flat that we had apparated in which meant I could apparate out.

"Lily, stop!" Sirius said, putting his hand on my wrist as he blocked a punch. Apparation required skin to skin contact.

For a moment, Sirius looked relieved that I'd stopped attacking him before he suddenly realised what was going on as I tightened my grip on his hand.

"NO!" By the time he'd finished the word, we already gone.

For a few moments, he didn't seem to realise where we, continuing to fight me before suddenly walking back a few paces, looking around himself with a startled expression.

"Lily, what did you do?" He asked, slowly before turning back to me and repeating himself as horror dawned on him, "Lily, what did you DO?"

"What I had to," I replied, dusting myself out, finally able to unzip my pocket and pull my wand out. Sirius reached for his but with a simply flick of my wand, I disarmed him, dashing forward  and grabbing it, "I'm sorry, Sirius, it could have been anyone who came with me but I had to. Now come on, we have to go and find my Mum."

"Lily, I'm not going and... and neither are you," He said, although his wavered and for the first time today, it was clear he'd lost control. I was in charge now.

Usually, I was kind and sweet to him but right now I had a friend and a Mum to protect and he was being a rather big obstacle right now, "Did you know, that the usage of unforgivable curses is actually allowed given the current climate?"

Sirius backed away slightly, fear gleaming in his eyes like a rat caught in a trap, "Lily, you wouldn't..."

"I... I would," I said, trying to keep calm although my voice was cracking slightly due to the sheer horror of what I was threatening, "I... wouldn't hurt you but... but the imperius curse wouldn't ... wouldn't be too far fetched."

For a moment, I thought he was going to burst into tears but after a few moments he hardened, "Then do it."

It was strange, as I raised my wand, a genuine part of me was tempted to, tempted to break all the morals I stood for and become the person I hated. He could see it too, backing away slightly before I lowered my wand.

"I won't. I won't do it," I said softly, "All I'm going to do is ask you, beg you to come with me. Please."

"Okay," He said although the unease hadn't left his voice as he slowly trailed after me. I thought we were going to walk in silence, but Sirius had other ideas.

"How far is your Mum's house?"

"About five minutes walk but let's be quick. I would apparate but if they are there, I don't want it to be too obvious and I put spells around there."

"Can I have my wand back?"

"Not yet?"

"Please?" He begged, looking genuinely agitated. After a long pause, I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to him.

"Please don't hex me? At least unless we know I'm wrong, please," I begged.

"I'm not going to. I... I'll believe you," He said uncertainly, "After all, everyone thought I was mental and dramatic when I accused Marlene of being the spy. I'm a twat but I'm not a hypocrite."

I didn't have anything other to say so I gave him a simple nod as we rounded the corner to my house. As we crunched up the gravel, I stopped suddenly. The house looked fine and the front room light was on, no sign of disturbance. The hysteria and panic had washed away and I began to wonder whether Marlene was right.

"Lily, what's wrong?" Sirius asked, softly, furrowing his brow as I stood there, watching, "Lily?"

"What if I'm wrong? Or worse, what if I'm right?" I asked, my hand trembling slightly, "Merlin's beard, I'm scared Sirius, I wish James was here. I felt better with him, when we were all tucked up and I felt safe. I don't feel safe now."

"I understand that," Sirius replied, "I feel stronger with Remus too but they're not here. We can be strong on our own and besides, we have each other. I've got your back, Lils."

He gave me a slight nudge, in the most 'bro' way possible and I couldn't help but weakly laugh through my panicked breathes, "There's no sign of a break in. Hopefully, I was wrong."

"Hopefully," Sirius agreed. I didn't feel calmer or less terrified but I knew I could do it, push through the fear as Euphemia had told me to. Pulling my wand out of my pocket, I unlocked the door to my house, slowly turning the handle and walking in. Both me and Sirius had our wands raised as we walked in but we were met with total silence.

"Mum?" I called, remembering our safe questions, "What was the name of your first pet?"

For a few moments there was no reply, my words slowly fading into silence.

"What are you doing?" Sirius hissed.

"Code questions," I replied, calling out again, "Mum, what was the name of your first pet?"

Again there was no reply, before suddenly a raspy voice came from behind me, "I forget."

My heart seemed to stop, my mind desperately racing for possibilities. Maybe she had a cold, maybe she just had a hoarse voice but as I turned around I knew it was none of those things.

My mother stood behind me but it wasn't my mother. My mum didn't have a manic gleam in her eyes, nor dirt under her nails and mangy clothes.

"Where's my mother?" I asked, the figure standing behind me.

"You're smart, Lily Evans, the Dark Lord was right about you. I answered the code word, how do you know I'm not her?" The raspy voice imposter asked again.

"Your answer?" Sirius murmured but I ignored him.

"Where is my mother?"

"Elsewhere. I'm taking her place for her for the time being, isn't that nice?" The imposter replied again. Strangely, I got the feeling they didn't want to kill me, if they'd wanted to they would have done it when we had our backs turned. 

"Where is she?" I asked again firmly.

"They took her. Aren't you curious about how I knew the answer to your code words?" The imposter asked and I sensed that they weren't particularly high up. They had a strange eagerness to impress, they wanted me to be scared so they could tell me. They wanted the power.

"It was Dorcas," They didn't reply but the silence and strange twisted look on my mother's face was enough, "She pretended to be me. Tell me, did she take my mother herself? Is she really the spy?"

"You really are very smart, you were not oversold in the slightest. Usually when the Dark Lord wants someone, he is dramatic about it but with you, the product really does live up to the expectation," The imposter replied again. Sirius lurched forward with his wand but I pushed him back, if we were violent we'd never find my mother or Dorcas.

"She is the spy, as you rightly said. I was here when she came, she was very convincing of you too but she was weak, couldn't go through with it. Left me to take the role she couldn't complete," The imposter replied, "And I'm doing good, aren't I? I think I managed to be sinister - "

"How old are you?" Sirius asked, his brow furrowing.

"It's none of your concern."

"You seem too young for this," Sirius said, his voice slightly sad as if distracted by something, "You shouldn't be doing this."

Before the imposter could reply, I cut in again, surprised at how well I was handling this, "Where are they? They're the bait aren't they? The Dark Lord's wanted me since the day I evaded him which is why you only talk, you don't kill."

"Very smart," The imposter repeated, "I am simply the messenger. Of course, I'm part of the plan too, who better to deliver the message than your own mother? They said they wanted it to be psychological like, this encounter had to remind you of another one."

"Talking but no killing," I murmured, my brain working harder than it had ever done even in N.E.W.Ts, "The abandoned funfair. The bounty hunter than I spoke to."

The imposter's lips curved into a smirk, "So incredibly smart, so logical, you'd be a valuable asset - "

"Obliviate!" Sirius's voice came from behind me and a jet of green light hit the imposter full on, knocking them onto the ground. I whipped around, looking in horror at Sirius, "I'm not sorry. We knew where they could be and I couldn't stand it anymore. They're so young, you could tell by the voice."

"They were," I said after a long pause.

"We'll send an owl to the order, wait for backup," He said, "Your hunch was right."

"Not a hunch, I knew," I replied quietly, "And you can call for backup, but I'm not waiting for backup. I have to go alone."

"Lily - "

"That's how the dark lord works," I replied softly, "He's psychological. Why else would he change the messenger into my own mother with polyjuice potion? He wants me scared and vulnerable and most of all: alone."